Hon Murray McCully
Minister of Foreign Affairs
21 March 2013 Media Statement

McCully lauds private sector commitment to Pacific energy goals

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully has welcomed the strong private sector presence when Pacific leaders, international donors and energy experts meet in Auckland for the two-day Pacific Energy Summit next week. Over 100 local and international companies will participate.

The Summit, announced by Mr McCully yesterday, will take place from 25 to 26 March at the Viaduct Events Centre. Co-hosted with the European Union, it aims to connect Pacific countries with major donors to boost investment in renewable energy projects in the region.

“An Energy Showcase running alongside the Summit will feature 80 exhibitors, providing a vehicle for countries, donors and the private sector to display the best, newest and most innovative projects, services or technology in renewable energy sector,” Mr McCully says.

Showcase exhibitors will present a variety of renewable energy technology from solar panels to wind turbines, geothermal, tidal and biomass, alongside innovations in energy efficiency and the professional engineering, infrastructure and consultancy services required to deliver them. More than a dozen Pacific Island countries and territories will also have booths where they can present their future plans as well as projects that are already under way.

“Many renewable energy project opportunities promoted at the Summit by Pacific countries will be attractive to private sector investment and independent power producers.

“New Zealand businesses are among the best in the world as solution providers for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. These companies have the capability and experience required to take forward commitments made by the donor community at the Summit,” Mr McCully says.

© Scoop Media

Public Address Link:
A (Sweary) Analysis Of Urgency Abuse And
The Consititution

Keith Ng: You’re looking at the Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) for the Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill. Basically, the courts said that the Government had to pay family members who looked after people with disabilities (because not doing so was discriminatory), so the Government passed this law to say: “Yeah nah.”

The RIS isn’t just redacted for the public – it was redacted for MPs. *Parliament* voted on this, with all the relevant facts blacked out.

Sure, it’s understandable, right? If you’re passing a law that’s really dodgy, you don’t want advice from civil servants saying “uh, this is pretty illegal” to be public. But actually, that’s not really a problem here, because in the same piece of legislation, THEY SAID THEY CAN’T BE TAKEN TO COURT. More>>