Lake Manapouri ‘fire sale’ alleged

Press, 4 March 1989, Page 2

Lake Manapouri ‘fire sale’ alleged

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington i Electricorp has been i accused of engaging in "a ’ fire sale of Lake Mana- j pouri,” by Mrs Molly Mel- i huish, of Energywatch, i the long-standing Welling-ton-based lobby group on 1 energy projects. i Lake Manapouri was 1 one of New Zealand’s 1 great environmental treasures, she said. ’

It should not be sold to Comalco which was almost what Electricorp was proposing. More important, to make any deal on this or any other big natural resource now would make a mockery of The public discussion on resource and environmental law reform, Mrs Melhuish said. A new resource law would set criteria which

would better protect Manapouri’s environment and make sure New Zealand got the best value from its natural resources. New Zealand was far from getting the best from Manapouri, its . power going to Comalco for halfprice. Electricorp’s Deed of Sale required it “to try its best” to renegotiate the

Comalco deal and share the resulting benefit equally with the Crown.

"This must have failed,” Mrs Melhuish said. “Such a cash payment would have been well publicised as a welcome addition to the retirement of the national debt.”

Now Comalco, one of the world’s most inefficient and polluting

smelters, wanted even more power with a fourth potline at Tiwai Point. It wanted this quickly in case the new resource laws allowed the Crown to take its share of the profit through a royalty on hydro energy, said Mrs Melhuish. New Zealand had to reject any fire sale of Manapouri’s economic treasure, she said.