Power prices didn’t go up in Britain

Ten days is not enough time to advertise give-way changes

On March 25, the give-way-toright-turning-traffic rule will be replaced by a new turning rule which will pretty much be the opposite. When the switch was made 35 years ago, crashes at intersections rose by 2.5 per cent for three years afterwards.

What worries me is the New Zealand Transport Agency is doing only a 10-day publicity campaign explaining the changes. Unless New Zealanders have got much better at driving in the past 35 years, I think this will result in many accidents.

It wouldn’t surprise me if panel beaters start hanging around intersections waiting for business.

Apart from better business for panel beaters, I see only downsides: more accidents, higher carinsurance premiums and an increase in road rage. With all the chaos that is going to be caused, is this change really necessary? LUKE FULLER

Karori Many correspondents, including one from Grey Power (Letters, March 15), claim New Zealand electricity prices will go up when the Government part-privatises state-owned power companies.

That certainly wasn’t what we experienced in Britain, where total privatisation of all utility suppliers led to very significant price cuts. Even after many years under private control, United Kingdom consumer costs for both gas and electricity were less than half what we had to pay when we moved to New Zealand more than two years ago.

We love New Zealand and its people, but much higher utility costs are among the few disadvantages. Part of this might be New Zealand’s obsession with wind farms and other ‘‘green energy’’, but I suspect that a lack of real competition in the sector is a major factor. PETER DAVIES

Whitby

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