The Labour-Green plan for reducing power prices through a centrally managed bulk buying scheme has certainly set the cat among the pigeons.
It may be true, as Energy Minister Simon Bridges has eagerly pointed out, that power prices and disconnection rates (for non-payment of power bills) were higher at least at one point under the previous Labour Government, but the difference is that Labour and the Greens now propose to do something about the alarming trends of power prices (even though demand is falling) and have a plan to fix the problem.
The Government by comparison has no plan at all and instead places blind trust on the market and the opinion of overseas experts that our system of electricity pricing is good by world standards. Unfortunately, this sentiment does not go down well with a large number of households for whom it is patently untrue.
I do not know if the proposed Labour-Green plan will stabilise and bring down power prices. I do not even know if it will be more or less efficient than the current market-driven model. I am not an economist. I do know, however, that the proposal will appeal to the natural instincts of New Zealanders. I say this because, on the whole and unlike Americans for instance, we like to tackle problems collectively instead of individually. It is how we generally do things when confronted with a common problem. It is, in short, in our DNA however much the ideologues who favour the market might preach otherwise.
Proof of this proposition is amply found throughout New Zealand's history. For around a century we left the negotiating of our employment agreements and wages to be managed centrally through union-negotiated awards. True, we have long since moved away from it but many of us still prefer to be part of collective employment agreements to this day. In other areas our method of choice for addressing social and economic needs is through collective action.
