Power views wrong: P.M.

Press, 23 April 1980, Page 16

Power views wrong: P.M.

PA Dunedin i The Prime Minister (Mr ‘ Muldoon) has said that con- ] ! elusions about planned Government disposal of elec- , : trical energy drawn by a , : Professor of Economics at , j Otago University, Professor :Paul van Moeseke, are con- . sidered wrong by the Treasury. In an interview at Dunedin Airport, Mr Muldoon expressed no enthusiasm when (asked if the Government ! i was preparing a detailed rebuttal to Professor van 1 iMoeseke’s assessment. Hel said the Government wash taking the advice of its offi-| cial advisers “who are much ] closer to it than he is.” , Professor van Moeseke recently published a study in which he concluded that another aluminium smelter built anywhere in New Zealand would be an economic disaster in terms of the national interest. Among other matters, he. revealed that the Clutha I' scheme would definitely go] ahead, but not any quicker; than scheduled in spite of assertions that Glutha energy was “surplus” energy in disguise. Mr Muldoon said he has, not read Professor Van Moeseke’s report, although a nreliminary study of it had been made. “The view of the Trea-i sury, which was communicated to me late last week, in plain language is that you.

can use alternative forms off arithmetic and get an en-b tirely different answer from his arithmetic. "The Treasury view is that the proposals we have : stand on their own feet on terms of merit, and that he is wrong. That is putting it as simply as I can.” Mr Muldoon agreed with the suggestion that the Government was quite satisfied that the long-term and short-term benefits of disposing energy in the manner proposed was in the country’s best interests. ■ Asked if there was any, better alternative use of the , I resource, Mr Muldoon said he could not say. I “None on offer. The various projects in front of us have different levels of national benefit. Some are better than others. Some of those we have in front of us are very good,” he said. Mr Muldoon said the Clutha scheme would go j ahead: “There is no question I on that. We are committed ■to it. All of the discussions we are having about energy-based industries are based on the current Clutha Plans — without amendment.” I The delayed commissioning date of the Clyde dam (1991) was the basis on which the Government was ■iworking: in other words, the date was not being brought forward to provide energy i for industry. “The power will be available when they want it,” Mr Muldoon said, adding, that a smelter could be built and in use within‘two years of approval, and even sooner

f“depending on which one wei di The determining factor, he* said, was not the production! of power but its trans-l mission. ! “Some of these projects' will be operating before there is any more powerl from the Clutha,” he said. ] Asked if they include ani aluminium smelter, he re-' plied: “I would think cer-| tainly if there is another pot-! line at Tiwai Point, but I ; couldn’t give you chapter and verse on that. j' “But what confuses people; are the constant public’ statements of enthusiastic amateurs. People who are opposed to development on principle, without any real idea of what they are talking about. “I am not closely familiar’ with the Otago scene but it seems to me from Welling-: ton that if there is any pro-’ posal- to have a smelter ati Aramoana, there is going to[ be very extreme opposition’ to it by all kinds of groups in Dunedin who seem to, constantly take this attitude] ! to any kind of industrial I , development,” Mr Muldoon' said. “The picture in Southland: is quite different. They are! i single-mindedly in favour ofthe expansion of the smelter , at Tiwai Point and alternai tively, the use of that area : for another smelter. “In terms of delay — and that means cost — there is only one answer as far as! ■ potential investors are con-| cerned, and that is to go' . rwhere they won’t have a. battle.” I Mr Muldoon said it was

inot for the Government to ’make the companies’ decisions for them about where ito go, but there was no [doubt that the enormous (cost of delay was a very im’portant factor. “That is the reason why I the National Development ißill was passed last year so Ithat the concerns of the opponents could have an air’ing'in court, but not so they [hold up a project by a series of hearings. “They will have their op- , portuntt’ but they will have ito do it once, without having a series of delays as has happened with some of the projects in Otago,” Mr Muldoon said. He disclosed that of the four projects involving aluminium smelting (those of iC.S.R. - Aluisuisse - Fletcher: Comalco; Reynolds; and i Martin Marietta) the proposal of' Martin Marietta was ■!the least advanced. A fifth, 'ithat of Shell-Billiton Inter--1 national metals, apparently 1 has dropped out. ' I Mr Muldoon said the ’ study of precisely how much [“surplus” energy would be available had been going on for some time. | The Government had about electricity ! prices with “pretty-well all” ■of the companies seeking energy, and when all the i bids were received, he said, •the Government would put I together a package and offer it. ii “We are very close to that ■ inow,” Mr Muldoon said. The ('choice of which companies i,was selected to. go ahead would be-'made ‘in terms of > the national benefit.”