Dam workers face uncertain future

Press, 31 October 1986, Page 3

Dam workers face uncertain future

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington The future of dam workers in Central Otago is now uncertain. Workers’ Union representatives failed to wring a promise from the Government of jobs for its members at the comple-

tion of the Clyde dam, when they met the Minister of Energy, Mr Tizard, and the Minister of Works, Mr Colman. The union had sought assurances from the Ministers about jobs for its members on the proposed Luggate and Queensberry projects once the Clyde dam had been completed. But the Ministers said the Government could not guarantee when a decision would be made to build the Luggate dam, other than to say that it would be the first big hydro development in the South Island after the Clyde dam’s completion. Mr Warren Cooper (Nat., Otago) said that the lack of a definite starting date for the dam represented “a betrayal” g. previous Labour Government undertakings. This was denied by Mr Tigard, who said that the Government could not change the facts of power demand. The next major power scheme in the South Island would be

Luggate higher up the Clutha River, followed by Queensberry, and that had not changed. The Government could not justify starting the Luggate dam now, and a firm date could not be given as to when a decision could be made, he said.

The timing for Luggate and Queensberry would be one for the new Electricity Corporation, and it was unlikely that a decision would be made before the new corporation began work on April 1 next year. Mr Colman and Mr Tizard said the Government appreciated the social and economic consequences involved. While they would like to give the workforce guarantees about its future they could not, in all honesty, do so. The Government could not commit New Zealand to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of development and tens of millions of dollars worth of interest charges just to ensure continuity of works — specially if the end result was a dam whose power was not immediately necessary. Similarly, it could not cancel or defer electricity projects elsewhere and throw other people out of work to save jobs in Cen-

tral Otago, they said. Delays in commissioning Clyde several years ago had forced commitments to other electricity developments to meet anticipated demand.

These included North Island thermal generation, Maui gas, coal and geothermal generation.

This meant that anticipated demand could be met by the electricity from the Clyde dam, and postponed the need for Luggate and Queensberry, the two Ministers said.