Explosive hydrogen debate
New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom had to call for order as a council debate on hydrogen got explosive.
At yesterday’s full New Plymouth District Council meeting, councillor Stacey Hitchcock presented her report on her $6438 trip to the UK to investigate hydrogen energy as a way forward for the Taranaki economy following the government’s decision to move away from further oil and gas exploration.
While most councillors were supportive, councillor John McLeod brought up the Local Government Act and said it was not necessary for Hitchcock to have made the trip.
‘‘Was it critical? No. Then why did we do it?’’ McLeod asked.
‘‘Other people went, those involved in the industry went.
‘‘Ratepayers’ money doesn’t grow on trees.’’
When Councillor Harry Duynhoven stood to reply to McLeod, McLeod raised a point of order which caused Duynhoven to exclaim ‘‘Oh sit down’’ followed by an insult.
Mayor Holdom eventually had to call for order. ‘‘I would ask that we calm the farm and focus on the matter at hand.’’
Most councillors were full of praise for Hitchcock’s report, which outlined her investigation into the Scottish hydrogen economy, their pilot projects, research and development, challenges, solutions and policies and how connections to the networks there would help Taranaki.
Aberdeen City Council already has transport networks fuelled by hydrogen, but it could go even bigger, Hitchcock said.
‘‘I would ask that we calm the farm and focus on the matter at hand.’’ New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom
‘‘This is about heating homes; it’s a whole future of how we look at our energy sources.’’
Taranaki could be the leader as New Zealand transitioned to a clean energy future, she said,
Hitchcock also recommended joining the Global Energy Cities Network, which would create a partnership with Aberdeen, and also joining and attending conferences from the recently-formed NZ Hydrogen Association.
‘‘The key point of this is we take the private sector with us... they make connections globally.’’
Duynhoven asked if there were any safety issues using hydrogen as fuel, and Hitchcock said it was safer than petrol because the hose seals to the car while refuelling.
Councillor Murray Chong said he had not thought the trip was a good idea, as he had not seen any industry advantage to similar visits in the past, but had since changed his mind.
‘‘People need to understand that we did take a hit with this energy decision and we have to look at something else.’’
Holdom refuted McLeod by pointing out the act called for meeting ‘‘reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations’’.
‘‘I’d like to hazard a guess that future generations would quite like to have a decent job. Forty per cent of our economic wealth in the region is generated by the energy sector.’’
Councillor Richard Handley added: ‘‘This is about jobs, this is about growth, this is about our responsibility to future generations.’’
Holdom said before any decisions were made on what to do next, council officers could prepare reports so an informed decision could be made.