21 March 2013

Government blocks Solid Energy inquiry for political reasons

The Government is shutting down parliamentary scrutiny on the extraordinary financial mismanagement at Solid Energy because National Party Ministers are implicated in the company’s failure. says the Green Party.

“The Government members of the Select Committee have blocked an inquiry into Solid Energy for party political reasons,” said Green Party energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes.

“The financial meltdown at Solid Energy is deeply embarrassing to the Government and Ministers because it highlights their lack of oversight and flawed shareholder strategy.

“The select committee is not doing its job when it just sits on its hands for political reasons in order to cover up Ministers involvement in the demise of a formally profitable publically owned company.

“Every time new information comes out about Solid Energy it is embarrassing to the Government, that is why they have blocked an in-depth investigation into what went wrong.

“The public are rightfully angry about the Solid Energy failure. There is significant public interest in this issue and the Government has let the public down by blocking an inquiry.

“It is counter to the public interest that a select committee is not looking into the reasons for the near total reversal of financial fortunes at Solid Energy.

“Parliament needs to know what went wrong at Solid Energy so mistakes can be avoided in the future. That will be harder to do now that the Select Committee cannot investigate the issue.

“The Government has let the public down by attempting to cover up Solid Energy’s failures.”

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>