Geothermal field at risk of extinction

Press, 23 February 1987, Page 4

Geothermal field at risk of extinction

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellingtsn The Minister of Energy, Mr Tizard, has criticised geothermal bore owners in Rotorua for risking the extinction of the Whakarewarewa tourist resort. Legal moves by the Rotorua Bore Owners’ Association could delay efforts to save the field, he said.

Talk of the rights of the bore owners ignored the fundamental point that New Zealand’s geothermal resources belonged to the Crown and were not the private property of those individuals who happened to own the land above the resources.

The rights of geothermal users were only those allowed by the Crown, Mr

Tizard said. As the owner, the Crown wanted the widest possible benefit of the resource for all New Zealanders. The Crown had a duty to curtail private use if that endangered the public good.

If curtailing private use involved changes to legislation or regulations, the Government would make the changes, he said. Payment for the use of geothermal energy was governed by regulations which would need reviewing under the new royalties regime.

“The Government’s policy has been to draw attention to the forthcoming regime and it is determined to save the geothermal field from imminent extinction,” Mr Tizard said.

“The Bore Owners’ Association has shown that it is concerned only with the selfish interests of a privileged few. “The future of this unique national asset is at stake and we cannot afford for our rescue effort to be delayed by the legal action of a few people,” he said. Action by the association urging Rotorua bore users to resist the Government’s rescue efforts had already had a damaging effect Mr Tizard said the summer shut-down exercise within the I.skm crisis zone had been a failure because of the huge number of applications for exemptions which had overloaded the administration service provided by the Government