Smog ‘Govt’s fault’

Press, 10 February 1982, Page 6

Smog ‘Govt’s fault’

Christchurch is New Zealand's smokiest city and the New Zealand Clean Air Society says that it .is the Government's fbult. 7

The ; . society has appealed to the Government to give Christchurch cheap power to remedy, the problem it says that the, Government created:

It wants the Government to reduce. the price Christchurch pays for electricity in winter.

The society's president (Mr P. V. Neary) said that the closing of the city's gas works had cut off the only supply of coke, a cheap, smoke-free fuel. "The true effect of the closing of the gas works has yet to be experienced." said Mr Ncarv.

To compensate and to make sure that the air pollution in Christchurch did not get any worse he said, electricity had to be available more cheaply. Fewer people would then resort to wetback fires, for water heating and more would use electric heaters. Power could be made cheaper if "maximum peakdemand charges" were reduced.;

The society blames the Government for Christchurch's. pollution because its decisions during the last 70 years had discouraged the city from building its

own clean fuel supplier, a hydro-electric power station. Government subsidy of the West Coast coal industry had also ensured that Christchurch always had a supply of cheap but airpolluting fuel.

Mr Neary said that because Christchurch's only source of smokeless fuel had closed, the. Government had a dutv to restore some conCessiort which would lessen air pollution.