‘Accept tariff as first leg in’

Press, 26 November 1979, Page 18

‘Accept tariff as first leg in’

The proposed South Island industrial electricity tariff concession should be accepted “gracefully” as the “first leg in” on other concessions for the South Island, according to the chairman of the Air Pollution Committee (Mr N. Dodge). The Minister of Energy (Mr Birch) had talked of a 20 per cent reduction for South Island industry, on the condition that power authorities restricted their transfer of trading surpluses to 1 per cent of turn-over, Mr Dodge told the committee. The concession would be made in the interests of retaining “one or two” big industries in Christchurch, which otherwise would have drifted to Auckland, he said.

“That’s the first leg in. We want that leg in, be-

cause it’s the first time they have recognised the problem in Christchurch,” said Mr Dodge. Mr Dodge said he hoped that the Christchurch City Council would accept Mr Birch’s condition that surplus transfers be restricted in future. If this was the case, the loan repayments on the Queen Elizabeth II Park complex would have to come from “other areas.” He said the council had considered differential rating from areas such as Waimairi, which is also served by the M.E.D. The chairman of the council’s policy and finance committee (Mr N. G. Hattaway) would meet Mr Birch on November 27 to discuss electricity tariffs, and some announcement could be expected “soon after,” said Mr Dodge.