The ‘can-do’ spirit

Thank you, Deena Coster, reporter for the Taranaki Daily News, for your insightful feature writing on Taranaki 2050.

In reading Deena’s articles, I’m hearing about the challenging times we are in.

But I’m also hearing the optimism and ‘can do’ attitude of Taranaki people, who I intend to represent in parliament later this year.

Recently, New Plymouth MP Jonathan Young wrote in the letters section that the Coalition Government is sending mixed messages and that they have talked big, but delivered little.

He also suggests that this Government’s investment into the future of Taranaki is lacking.

Jonathan Young is the Energy and Resources spokesperson for the Opposition and he therefore knows that the energy industries in New Zealand are virtually all commercially organised, even where there is a 51 per cent Government ownership.

This is true for the supply of petrol, diesel, natural gas and electricity.

The role of Government is therefore restricted mainly to matters of regulation, royalties and taxation.

The New Plymouth-based National New Energy Development Centre (NNEDC) is one Government initiative with an initial $27 million funding.

Other initiatives are the partial ban on new oil and gas exploration, the Zero Carbon Act and the car feebate scheme to foster the purchase of more electric vehicles.

If New Zealand is to achieve sufficient and effective actions in the area of climate change, then all sectors must work together, including Central and Local Government, the energy sector and the farming sector.

I invite Jonathan Young to be more constructive in his criticism and perhaps to spell out his vision for a future where we are no longer dependent on the burning of fossil fuels.

A future where the people of Taranaki use their ‘can do’ attitude and innovation to lead New Zealand and the world in clean energy and a greener environment.

Glen Bennett, Labour Party candidate for New Plymouth