Whakatane launches three strikes rule for rubbish recyclers
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Electricity Authority not a 'chocolate teapot', Shane Jones says
Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The Electricity Authority has proven itself not to be a "chocolate teapot", the associate energy minister says. In a bid to make energy more affordable, the authority will require generators to offer the same price to all retailers - and ban the bigger power companies from giving themselves discounts . The government said the change would increase competition, giving consumers more choices . Associate energy minister Shane Jones - who has previously been heavily critical of the authority and has threatened to end it unless it flexed its authority - was pleased. "The EA (Electricity Authority) have proved that they're not totally a chocolate teapot. Anything that shrinks the cost of energy and secures greater security, I think Kiwis should be happy." Jones accused big electricity companies of currently operating as if they had more power than Cabinet. He said the change was a surgical instrument - and in future he would like to see a sharper instrument taken to the gentailers' (companies that are both generators and retailers) corporate makeup. Labour leader Chris Hipkins. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Meanwhile, Labour was also backing the move to level the playing field between big power companies and smaller outlets. Leader Chris Hipkins said he wanted to see what kind of enforcement there would be behind the new rule. "I think there probably needs to be more teeth behind it, and I think that they actually need to go further than that - but it is a good start." The change came out of the Energy Competition task force, which was set up last August in response to the winter power crisis . Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
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RNZ News
10 hours ago
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Legislation to implement Three Waters replacement passes third reading
'Local Water Done Well' is replacing Labour's Three Waters. (File photo) Photo: 123RF The government's final piece of legislation to implement 'Local Water Done Well' , replacing Labour's Three Waters, has passed its third reading. National MP Ryan Hamilton hailed the legislation, and said "hello localism, and choice" while Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi called it "an atrocious piece of work." The government has said the Local Government (Water Services) Bill and the Local Government (Water Services) (Repeals and Amendments) Bill provide a "flexible" framework for local councils to address challenges related to drinking-water, waste-water, and stormwater services. NZ First's Casey Costello led the debate, calling it the government's "urgently required" plan to "address challenges with New Zealand's water services." "Simply put, chronic underinvestment and the lack of sustainable management of local government water services has come home to roost." Costello said councils would be able to choose the best structure for "financially sustainable water services that meet regulatory requirements and local needs." NZ First's Casey Costello led the debate. (File photo) Photo: VNP / Louis Collins "I want to keep repeating that Local Water Done Well will maintain local ownership, choice, and decision-making. "That gives councils the best shot at identifying their most pressing problems and the right approach to solving them." National MP Ryan Hamilton hailed the passing of the government's Three Waters replacement. "Goodbye Three Waters, hello Local Water Done Well. Goodbye co-governance, hello locally chosen and designed options. "Hello localism and choice." NZ First's Jamie Arbuckle highlighted the removal of "co-governance" in the legislation. "Isn't it great to get rid of co-governance from this piece of legislation? Get rid of it! We are about New Zealanders. We are about Kiwis." But the opposition slammed the legislation, with Labour's Megan Woods saying it "shifts the financial risk" to councils and ratepayers. Labour's Megan Woods slammed the legislation. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone She criticised the government's response to Three Waters, and said it had got rid of the economies of scale and "the money that could have been saved", allowing for a "proliferation" of water service entities. "What the government said was 'oh no there's two few entities, there's not enough room for local decision making under the previous government plans'." But she said the changes had led to an average increase in water charges for households. Tangi Utikere, Labour's spokesperson for local government, echoed her, and said there was no adequate financial support to those councils for the changes the government was seeking to implement. Te Pāti Māori's Mariameno Kapa-Kingi criticised the government for "ignoring the role of Māori in the delivery of water services." "Removing these provisions is not progress, it is reform, it is regression and it is deeply and only racist." She said the bill in its thinking and design ignored and dismissed how "tangata tiriti get to live here", referencing Te Tiriti o Waitangi. She implored the government to "get the education" and concluded by saying "what an atrocious piece of work." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
