Answer wanted on dam decision

Press, 3 November 1986, Page 3

Answer wanted on dam decision

PA Wellington The Government’s decision to go ahead with the Luggate dam construction showed there was one rule for private enterprise and another for State corporations, said the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger. The Government caucus last week called for an immediate start to work on the Luggate, in spite of Ministerial comments there was “no way” a firm date on the work could be set. A statement from the Minister of Energy, Mr Tizard, and the Minister of Works, Mr Colman, said Otago Labour members of Parliament had

taken the question to the caucus on Thursday. “Caucus confirmed the policy that work should proceed on the Luggate dam as soon as possible,” Mr Tizard said.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Mr Tizard said 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 work, especially if the end result was a dam whose power was not immediately necessary. Mr Bolger said the public was entitled to know the factors behind the

Government’s change of heart. “Did the Government make the decision for purely political reasons, and was the matter discussed with the Electricity Corporation?” he asked yesterday. He also questioned whether the work would be put up for public tender, and said the Minister of Finance, Mr Douglas, should . release the Treasury report on the Luggate dam. A rundown of the Clyde dam work-force was likely to start about June, 1987, and the demand for full power from Luggate could be felt between 1994 and 1999.