The Alliance Party today has given its full support to the Council of Trade Unions’ (CTU) new policy calling for the public ownership of Aotearoa New Zealand’s electricity generation.
The Alliance Party says this policy reflects a long-standing bottom line for the Alliance.
The CTU’s proposal to bring electricity generators back into public ownership to tackle the cost of living crisis and ensure security of supply is a welcome return to common sense, says Alliance Public Assets spokesperson Tom Roud.
“For decades, the Alliance has consistently called for the return of essential assets to public hands.”
“Electricity is a public good, not a commodity to be profited from while Kiwi families struggle to heat their homes,” Mr Roud says.
“The failed experiment of the 1990s National government’s electricity reforms has been a disaster for everyday New Zealanders. The introduction of a competitive market and the splitting of the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand (ECNZ) led to a system of ‘ticket clipping’, where private companies have been able to extract super profits at the expense of citizens and industry.”
The result of these failed policies has been a doubling of the real cost of electricity and chronic underinvestment in our national grid, leaving New Zealand vulnerable to supply issues and price shocks.
The Alliance Party finds it deeply concerning that the Labour Party has not immediately endorsed the CTU’s sensible and popular policy, nor did it move to fix the issue when it was in Government previously.
“The question for the Labour Party is blunt: why are you not immediately supporting the CTU policy?” asks Mr Roud.
“Their silence is deafening and speaks volumes about how far they have strayed from their roots.”
“The privatisation of our power has failed. It’s time to put people before profits and restore our electricity system to full public ownership. The Alliance stands with the CTU and the thousands of New Zealanders who are demanding a fairer deal.”
Tom Roud is the Alliance Party’s spokesperson for Public Assets and is a candidate in the Central Ward in the current Christchurch local body elections.