Gerry Brownlee MP
National Party Energy Spokesman

11 October 2007

Energy strategy rhetoric doesn't match record

National Party Energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee says there's a huge gap between the Labour Government's new energy strategy rhetoric and its record.

"The strategy released today is rich in worthy sentiment. But Labour's track record in this area just doesn't stack up.

"Under Labour, the amount of renewable energy generated in New Zealand has reached an all time low of 62%, while the amount of electricity generated from coal has climbed from 4% to 12%.

"Meanwhile, Labour has directly invested in the oil-fired power station at Whirinaki and given gas supply guarantees to the Genesis EP3 plant.

"Simply directing SOEs not to use renewables will not be enough.

"The elephant in the room on this issue is the RMA. Wind generators have complained that the cumbersome process is slowing investment in the sector, and no one needs to be told about the consent nightmares that hydro generators face.

"Without some streamlining of the consent process this strategy won't ensure security of supply."

ENDS

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