Power has many guises
Power to the people? Yeah, right!
Power means different things to different people around the world.
In some countries power means hatred, bloodshed and oppression of the masses.
In other places it means accumulating as much of this world’s goods as you can.
In our schools, power often leads to bullying and the like.
Politicians, and especially those in ministerial positions, try to exert as much power as they can by making rules and laws for others to obey.
Media people want to show their power by manipulating society’s thinking and attitudes.
Religious figures sometimes demonstrate fearsome power over the lives and actions of others.
Justice personnel wield power in their pursuit of those who break the law. And so it goes on.
But here in New Zealand, say the word ‘‘power’’ and most people’s minds spring immediately to the everincreasing cost of this commodity to the ordinary people. And power has two meanings in this context.
Power companies have almost absolute power over what they charge us for our electricity and gas. And then there is the power they provide for us to keep warm and fed.
Either way, power is a very appropriate word when you come to think about it.
A major factor in these constant price hikes is the number of entities which have to take their cut.
There are the power producers, of course, then we pay for the delivery of our power, maintenance, meters, data collection and, most of all, the returns to investors and the magnificent salaries for company executives.
But, as Robert F Kennedy once said, ‘‘ The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use – of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public.’’
Exactly. A great mystery to me is that, whenever a price rise is mooted, we are told that it is necessary ‘‘to build more power capacity’’, or ‘‘to improve the infrastructure’’. The trouble is, we see precious little for all the funds which have been poured into these activities over many years.
Where are all the new power stations being built to cope with the expected increase in our population? Where has all the money gone that we have already paid for these things?
Another mystery is why the prices keep on going up when we are told there is a surplus of power available at the moment. I thought such a surplus was supposed to result in lower prices, not higher ones.
And when we are assured by the Energy Minister that the Government is working hard to keep power prices ‘‘reasonable’’, I have to ask where he lives – on Mars or somewhere?
What is reasonable about power prices going up by more than the rate of inflation?
Those of us on superannuation only, or the minimum wage, or some benefit or other do not get our income boosted even up to the rate of inflation, let alone above it. Only politicians and business executives (including those in our state-owned enterprises) get that, it would seem.
Of course, there is precious little we ordinary folk can do about this situation except pay up. But it hurts, big time. When will any government have the courage to do something positive about it, I wonder?
Last month, our Porirua mayor, Nick Leggett, gave us some interesting information about the discussions around local body amalgamation.
This month, Ruth Dyson, Labour’s spokeswoman for senior citizens, will address us.
So if you have questions you want answered, come along. Ruth has a very good reputation in Christchurch with her constant attendance at community functions, particularly since the earthquakes.
Tuesday, April 9, at 1.30pm at The Porirua Club, Lodge Place, Porirua. Contact Helen Griffith on 236 0112.