Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Ryan Bridge: The Taranaki LNG terminal is a good idea, depending on who you ask

Transcript

Ryan Bridge: The Taranaki LNG terminal is a good idea, depending on who you ask · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: This government's running into similar problems. I reckon is just
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: sind us wondered on energy. They're getting too much advice,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: official advice, and too many reports. The problem when you
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: ask the experts for advice on every thought that pops
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: into your head is that they tend to agree with it,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: and if they don't, you tend to ignore them. And
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: what does that tell you about the need for the
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: advice in the first place. The latest case in point
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: is this alng terminal in Tartanaki billion bucks. They reckon
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: it's going to cost we'll all be paying a levy
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: on our power bills to fund it, though they reckon
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: we'll save in the long run. Big announcement at the
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Beehigh Theatery yesterday and the official advice from MB and
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: the rest was that this is the way to go.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: This will save us all on average apparently fifty bucks
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: a year on electricity if we're lucky. Because remember, as
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: with all advice, there are caveats. The caveats are depends
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: on this, depends on that. So we've got an announcement.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: We hope for the best and this thing will be built.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Come hello, high water bar A change in government by
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty seven. When the wind don't blow and the
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: sun don't shine, we will import ALLNG and keep the
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: lights on. That's the theory. But last year we had
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: the Frontier Economics Report, same issue, different set of advisors.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: They were an independent global consultancy crowd looking at the
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: wider market. What they said about aling was quite different.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: They told us it would basically be a dumb idea
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: to build an import terminal because you've got a massive
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: fixed cost that you then spread over a relatively small
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: amount of output because you're only using this as a backup,
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: and you can't sell an ALNG terminal once you've finished
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: with it and you have no need for it anymore.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: These particular advisors made the point that it's quite a
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: specific piece of ketters and it could well turn into
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: one of this country's biggest white elephant investments. Yet here
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: we are less than a year later, with a different
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: set of advice and a different plan. There's no doubt
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: the country needs a plan to deal with energy security.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Everyone knows that. But depending on who you ask, this
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: is either brilliant or batshit. For more from early edition
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: with Ryan Bridge, listen live to news talks at b
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio