Well, we approach things with an open mind, I tell Mr Hipkins, but we are following the logic that Mr Gilmore outlined. He made the point that if we go back to the 1980s and 1990s, we go back to the debate between VHS and Beta. We go back to the debate between Microsoft and Netscape. One could have taken a gamble and decided which type of technology to pursue, but one would have made a mistake in doing that. I think Mr Gilmore has outlined very clearly that that would be a foolish thing to do at this stage.
It was particularly interesting that Mr Sam Lotu-Iiga talked about the 75 percent increase in the price of electricity during the term of the previous Labour Government. He said that Labour is now crying crocodile tears over the National Government’s lack of support for this bill. I think it is very important to remind ourselves that there was a 75 percent increase in the price of electricity over the last 9 years. That is three times the rate of inflation. So what is this Government doing about it? It will increase the price of electricity even further. It will increase it even further, because we have an emissions trading scheme starting on 1 July this year. It is being extended to the stationary energy sector, which Treasury says will add 5 percent to the price of electricity. I know that Mr Hipkins is concerned about that, because he is concerned about the price of electricity rising, but he ignores the fact that his own party would have increased electricity prices by 10 percent if it had won the last election.
The ACT Party, and only the ACT Party, questions the logic of having artificial increases in the price of electricity at all. Why would we proceed with an emissions trading scheme when none of our major trading partners is prepared to impose those same costs on their consumers, businesses, and exporters? I know that this issue is of concern to all New Zealanders and particularly to people living in rural areas. I have just finished a 2-day tour of the Waikato and Taranaki. I had seven public meetings, and I was stunned by the response and by the number of people who wanted to come.
Mr Clendon talked about the current roll-out of what he would call dumb meters. I understand Mr Clendon’s concerns, because when the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment raised this issue with the Commerce Committee last year, I also wondered at the wisdom of doing that. But I was persuaded by the arguments of Mr Gilmore and the National Government that to proceed when there is so much uncertainty as to the way the technology will go would be unwise. Mr Clendon said that the advantage of having the meters that are currently being installed is all one-way. The generators have an advantage because they will be able to read these meters to automatically calculate accurate power bills. I think that is an advantage for the consumer, but Mr Clendon argued that the consumer will get no additional benefit.
Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.