KEY POINTS:
Here is an earlier selection of Your Views:
Peter
This is absolutely ridiculous. NZ has a comprehensive social welfare system in place as it is, so people on low or no incomes should never be in a situation where they can't pay for essentials of life. We have now gotten to a point in society where the "less fortunate" have gotten into this welfare cycle, demanding more and more, while having no intention of contributing back to the community. The resources are there - if people choose to waste them instead of paying for essential, it is their own fault. The Greens proposal is only valid if it comes hand in hand with a benefit cut - that way families are still getting the same amount of help from the taxpayer, and are "forced" essentially to spend it on the essentials of life.
Waitakere
Families already get lots of handouts from the government often at the expense of those without children or whose children have grown up. It's budgeting skills that are needed, they need to understand that paying bills should come before paying tithes, having elaborate weddings, funeral, buying takeaways etc. If single people on a $170.00 a week can pay their bills I'd have thought that Families receiving Family Tax Credit,Income Support, Accommodation Supplement, Childcare Payments etc.
Aaron Phillips
Will the public, media (you) and family apologise to Mercury if it is found that Folole Muliaga would have died regardless of the power supply?
This all smacks of a premature witch hunt. Until the evidence is gathered and assessed and the cause of death reported any apology is a premature step forced by misplaced righteousness.
I don't know why Folole Muliaga died yet and I certainly don't expect that Mercury would have apologised. Yes perhaps power should now be considered an essential service and alternative debt collection methods are needed, that might be one good thing to come out of this. If we used this trial by media/public hysteria for all of our legal process we would be in a sorry state indeed where cause and effect no longer had any value and all that mattered was perception and image.
Nick
To those who believe the family is at fault for not paying their bills, I think its fair to say that not everybody has the means to pay their bills. This is a feature of our society, its structure dictates that there are limited places available for those who seek to live above the poverty line. So, in today's society, how do we figure out the limits of personal responsibility? When should society as a whole take responsibility? This is not only about mercury and the Muliaga family, its about all of us taking responsibility for the society we are living in.
Ru Wihongi
Deepest sympathy to the family of Folole Muliaga. Maybe Mercury need to improve their duty of care to those affected by power supplies being cut off including better communication with their eyes and ears (the contractors). This one's not going to go away in a hurry.
Shannon
I'm not at all surprised to see that it was Mercury Energy who cut off a woman's power despite her reliance on it for life support. My husband and I recently experienced Mercury's attitude toward cutting off people's power. We are currently living in separate towns for work and each thought the other had paid the bills. When my husband received a 48 hour notice of disconnection he called Mercury immediately and paid the outstanding bill. Two days later the power was cut. Mercury had warned that the cut may still occur as a job order had already been activated to cut off our power. But we were astounded that in 2 full working days Mercury could not contact the contractor to call off the job.
Mercury GM, James Moulder was quoted in your paper saying that "We always arrange to disconnect while people are on the premises as well. We disconnect in the morning so we can reconnect soon afterwards in the afternoon if payment has been made". This is simply not true. Our power was disconnected while we were at work so we were unaware of it until my husband got home that evening. We were very distressed that the top layer of our wedding cake in the freezer would be ruined so made numerous calls to Mercury to try to find a way to get the power reconnected. We were told they would only reconnect if we paid a disconnection/reconnection fee at the Post Shop and called them with the receipt number. They would not accept a credit card payment over the phone so we had to wait until the Post Shop opened the next day. We were also told that, once we paid the fee, we would have to wait on the premises for up to 24 hours for a contractor to reconnect it. This was not possible as my husband had to be at work and I was in another town. Mercury would not arrange for the contractor to phone when he was on his way and would not give us the contractor's details. They insisted that we had to be there when the power was reconnected&. [abridged]
Annette
First of all, shame on those people who are blaming the family for the woman's death. How would you feel if this happened to your mother? Understand both sides of the story and then say something. If you say that you shouldn't jump into conclusion then don't! Keep in mind this family immigrated from Samoa and no one knows how little or how much knowledge they had about cpr, family health assistance, etc. I am a pacific islander myself and I could understand why the poor woman didn't want her kids to feel distressed or worried. Although I would have called the ambulance no matter what my mother told me to do, it wouldn't hide the fact that the contractor cut the power after he had seen that at that time she obviously needed power to keep her oxygen machine on. We don't know that she used it 24/7 but at that specific time she may have felt she needed oxygen and felt it was crucial that her oxygen machine stayed on for that time. We don't know how these kids are feeling right now, they maybe feeling bad that they didn't do anything more to help her breathe better, even though I don't think it is their fault at all, or they maybe feeling so confused as to why their mother's simple plea to not switch the power off was too much to ask for? I feel sorry for the contractor as well, as he may have been put under so much pressure from those above him. He may have been trying to juggle decisions between keeping his job or switching off the machine and have them suffer anyway. I am still waiting to hear the full story from both sides........but in no way should we blame those kids, their mother has gone, she was a great contributor to this confusing country as a childhood teacher and a caring mother to her kids. Pray for her family and pray for the contractor.
liz (district nurse)
Am left wondering why the community health services in Mrs Muliaga's area had not set up an emergency plan with her - do they not have enough district or respiratory nurses in the area? At the least she could have had a phone number to contact community health services - people are not simply sent home with such equipment and left to their own devices! Or have health services in her area shrunk!! Also, with sophisticated IT these days, why cant the power companies flag accounts of anyone with essential equipment - this could prompt them to double check a situation, maybe contact the health services involved.
John
I feel sorry for Mrs Muliaga; appalled at the media's sensationalist and unbalanced coverage; amused at the politicians putting the boot in; sorry for the company having to deal with an uninformed lynch mob; and am fast losing sympathy for the family who seem to want to lay blame, milk the situation and not take any responsibility themselves.
Brendon
My sympathies to the grieving family and it really is too early to make definitive statements until the full details are known. However, the one factor I can't get past at this point is what would the family have done if this was a long power cut, as happens from time to time? The effect is the same, whether deliberately cut or accidentally cut. Would they have taken no action to get assistance for their mother, as it would appear they didn't for 2 - 3 hours before finally calling an ambulance? I agree that Mercury and the contractor's actions may be found wanting too, but the family must take some responsibility for not doing enough to assist their mother - surely an ambulance could be called earlier or the neighbours asked to use their power (who is going to refuse?). If the response to this is that the family are not stroppy enough and didn't want to cause a fuss (which may well be true), then it stands to reason that the same fatality would have occured in any case in the event of a long power cut.
Pete Metcalfe
Dear Helen, visited and her visit was acepted " with the spirit that it was intended"!I'm going to vote for you now Helen ---- yeah right !Hey good PR move, it'd work for some.
Elspeth Mount
The media beat-up is generating rather more heat than light. If there had been a power cut as we had for over five hours some weeks back, what would the family have done? There is the possible added element of the stress of a deliberate act rather than the randomness of a power cut but there are also added elements of the actual state of the deceased's health at the time of her death: the lack of power may have been entirely insignificant in terms of the actual cause of death.I have been a customer of Mercury for all my working life and consider them to be an ethical and community minded company.
David G
To be sure, the death of this woman is a tragedy. But the media (and interestingly whomever 'fed' the story to them in the first place)couldn't wait for the facts to emerge, before leading this world-wide lynch mob against Mercury Energy and it's unfortunate contractor. The Coroner's report will make interesting reading. The police inquiry will be equally revealing I'm sure. But from what I've seen and heard, it's another case of the family, not taking personal responsibility. Given the circumstances I guess we can understand. They were in shock and grieving. But, why the media frenzy and the blame game? We all have a responsibility to own up to our actions or lack of them.
ger de Pater
I just can not understand why these "so called big bosses of mercury " cannot admit that they have done something wrong! The same for the contractor at this job.
Maybe it would be a wakeup call for them , if we all change our supplier.
It say's again and again in this country, to many big companies have a monopoly or almost a monopoly so it doesn't matter what we say or do they still will be in control.It is time for a drastic change.
Tom Rutherford
How can Mercury or the contractor be blamed,what if there had been a power cut thru natural reasons,would Mercury still be held accountable? There is standard procedures for letting Mercury know you require 24 hour power. I would say it is the responsibility of the company or hospital that supplied the equipment to a poor English speaking family, were they told just to go home and plug it in? Basically what Helen Clark is saying is that all older people should not pay their power bills this year and Mercury will not be able to turn their power off as they might die from the cold... give us a break!
Rita
My condolences to the Muliaga family at this time of grief. I commend the Prime Minister in her reaction and making the effort to personally see the family. Great gesture done by the leader of this country is commendable to me!As she mentioned, and I wholeheartedly agree, even if the death of Mrs. Muliaga was not directly related to the power being disconnected, the action done was beyond me. No spirit or "mana" of aroha/alofa (love). The person that did it did not have any feeling of love for the family for one, and more especially the mother with the hoses whose life is now gone. Rules and laws can be changed depending on the situation when you are confronted with each situation individually, but principles of these rules and laws should remain in tacked. These laws and rules are made to govern people (you/me) of a country, and if you insist that the rule is - "a disconnection notice was sent out via courier or letters of disconnection have been sent out" without knowing the indept situation of the family you are faulty. So the contracting employee goes out, sees the situation, my gosh use some dam wisdom (obviously now I see he did not have any) instead of just getting there sees the mother with the hoses and said, "no I have orders to come disconnect the power". I can honestly tell Mr. contractor that went to disconnect the power, you probably would have gotten a much better paying job from somewhere else if your boss fires you because you didn't disconnect the power, but too bad you won't get any and your company is getting some freaking bad, I mean bad publicity not only here in Niu Silani but elsewhere. I don't blame the Mercury Company or the Contractors but, I will definitely blame the person that went to disconnect the power, even though in the eyes of the law your company (who is the subcontractor) under the Mercury who is under the "government" is liable for your actions. I hope in the future people with more intelligence and wisdom are hired to serve the people of this country so that they will do it with the "mana" of love for the people of this great nation. Ia faamaise ile tama male nofoaalo!
Murray
Well, the Prime Minister weighs in without waiting for all the facts to become known. I am sure that we all have some sympathy for the family ( as we should) but I am sure that the heavy input and remarks of your and your colleagues Prime Minister will not win you the next election. Perhaps though you and your government could ponder Ms. Bradfords remarks on social responsibility. As a suggestion, remove all the luxury items form the list of items you grant beneficiaries (paid for by me and my fellow taxpayers) such as TV, Playstation and so on, and then with the money saved, create an emergency fund that could be used to help the genuine cases where reliance on electricity is essential to life. Or, when someone such as this family are in genuine need, make an arrangement with the power supplier so that deductions can automatically be made from their benefit and credited against the power account. or is that to capitalistic for your socialist, communist supported governnment?
Steve
I think that a lot of people are going to look very silly and have to do a lot of back-pedaling if an autopsy shows that lack of oxygen was not the cause of death.
Luke
I am shocked at some of the readers extreme selfish points of view. Nothing is more precious than a human life. I have to agree whole-heartedly this time with the prime minister. This should never had happened, Mercury have managed this badly.Even if no criminal charges are laid, heads must role for the ungodly action. nothing can justify the loss of a human life.
Monika
I cannot believe how far this story has been blown out of proportion. Yes it is a tragedy that a family has lost a loved one, but if you dont pay the power bill, the power gets cut off. Simple. Power companies give you ample warning. What if it had of been a power cut? As they said on the news, the oxygen machine wasn't keeping her alive, it was only there to be used occasionally. Plus, it took her almost 3 hours to pass away after the power was cut off... ample time to either call an ambulance or get her to hospital. There is no excuse and no way they company or the contractor should be liable for this woman's death. If you didnt pay your phone bill and and then something happened and you couldnt call 111 because your phone got cut off, is Telecom at blame? No.
Quentin
This is truely a tragic event, and while on the surface the energy company does appear culpable, the family must take some responsibility for the tragedy. Did they not think of seeking assistance from the neighbour, calling an ambulance, police, or even asking the contractor to wait while alternative arrangements were made? The big corporation is again going to be the target while the consumer plays the innocent and hard-done-by victim. I find it incredibly hard to believe that a contractor would cut power if they were fully aware of the circumstances, and could argue the family is equally culpable by their apparent in-action - but again, I guess only half the story has been told.
Sheree
Before Helen Clark starts throwing stones maybe her government should check if this family were receiving all the working for families benefits her government claim to dish out but aren't very good at making sure hardworking families receive. From media reports both adults were in fulltime employment before the mother got sick and the dad had to cut back his hours to help care for her. Someone should check that this family were getting their full entitlements then they might have had the money to pay their power bill.
Bruce
Apart from the fact that around only 36 per cent of the population care what the PM says, and that more prudent players involved with this affair have reserved comment until facts are proven, we are nonetheless treated to another hypocritical outburst from someone with little real-world experience of life or the power industry and who spends all her time defending her own actions instead of being open and honest with the public.
J
I have been a Mercury customer now for about 8 years.Today I switch off this supplier.
P Ilisio
A lot of people seem to be missing the bigger picture here. Just for a moment let us forget about the unpaid bill, let us forget about the ongoing police, the media investigation, the politics that are now drowning it, and the opinions of those who think they know any better. A life has been taken and no amount of bills (paid or unpaid) will bring her back. Can Mercury get their money back? Yes. Can the Muliaga's get their mother back? No. Seems like a cop-out to me.
Scott Whitaker
While this death is regrettable and some blame does lie with Mercury Energy, the family must also take part of the blame for not calling an ambulance when they saw the mother was in trouble. That failure should also be taken into account when blame is passed around.
bob
Moral is pay ya bills, & it is rich that Helen Clark is now talking about accountability!
Warren
1. The fact her oxygen machine could not run was a contributing factor to her decline. 2. The fact that no one in the family did anything for two hours after the power cut and declining an offer of an ambulance is the reason she is dead
The fact that there was no backup power source for an oxygen machine is pretty stupid in my opinion. What is the average IQ in this country now?In a perfect world, the dialogue would run like this: "But if you cut off our power my mother is going to die, she needs it for her life support". "Well, guess you better pay the bill then" "But we haven't got any money"."Well we can work out a payment plan then" (aside - name one company that wouldn't make such a scheme available) "But we still haven't got any money". "Guess you better get in contact with her doctor then; because you're right, if this bill goes unpaid, we will cut off the power and she will die".
Jim Scott
I see that "the final notice" is now posted only 6 weeks after the 1st bill is sent - what company is the best one to move to get away from this vile company?
JR
And who is Mercury Energy - a State Owned Enterprise. And who appoints the board members of Mercury Energy - the NZ Government. And who heads the NZ Government - Helen Clark. Seems to me therein lies the problem!
John
I cannot understand how a family with the father working,a 20 year old son and a 28 year old son can claim to only have an income of $400.00 per week.If the sons are not working one would assume that they are on the dole and the father would be receiving money from the "Working with Families" scheme seeing that they also have a 16 year old daughter and a 7 year old son..The father claims that he had to cut his hours of work to look after his wife.In that case if they are not employed what were the two older sons doing?Whilst the death is unfortunate there are a lot of things that do not seem to make sense.
Fiona
I can't believe the number of New Zealanders out there, including Helen Clark and other MP's, who seem to think we live in America!It's Americans that never accept responsibility for their own actions and sue every single person they possibly can for any reason at all. Whilst it's a terribly unfortunate outcome and losing someone you love is never easy, why should it be some 'big corporations' fault, why does someone need to be held accountable. If there had been a powercut due to, for example, a tree falling on the lines, who would be getting the blame then? The tree? The line for falling down?I mean seriously New Zealand, do we really want to turn into these angry humans beings that have to find fault in everything and blame someone else for the things that go wrong in our lives? Some personal responsibility and personal accountability needeed by all these people blaming businesses over this unfortunate case.
Destiny
First of all my condolenses to the Muliaga family. Due to the facts not being confirmed as yet I cannot say so much at this stage but from experience I would think that the problem did not start at the time of Muliaga's death and surely not on the basis that the power was cut off. At the time of being in the hospitals care she would have been assessed by the appropriate departments dealing with oxygen equipment being that she would be a patient with respiratory and/or heart failure. To my understanding patients discharged home with oxygen concentrate machines and CPAP machines (mask) are usually educated briefly on the caring of the equipment and what to do in an emergency situations ie: machine alerts due to no power. Of course all machines should come with appropriate correspondence with a contact number usually a 24 hour contact on it. I know for a fact that the DHB would not send patients a oxygen concentrate machine home for 24 hour life support because the oxygen machine does not cater for that purpose. She should have had a portable oxygen tank that she would use while being transported in vehicles and out in the community or in a public power failure if need be. How would they have coped in a power failure in the area? At this stage I do not have the right to judge anyone but I have the right to an opinion and I hope it helps with justice in our country. I am a low-income earner as well in a similar situation caring for a sick dependant on oxygen. Power is my first and foremost priority apart from my house and children. If you get into a desperate situation ie: power disconnection there is help!!!! The pacific Island community needs to be educated in contacting their local Citizens advice bureau. In the Muliaga's sad tragedy, a phone call to Mercury call centre in the first instance of receiving warning of power disconnection in my opinion would have saved alot of pain and heartache especially a life!
Dave Morton
If this person was that sick that she died within 4 hours (& she wasn't on the air when the disconnection took place) then just maybe she should have been in hospital anyway. She wasn't - why? Another maybe - because of our failing health system?
J Mok
I think the dead woman's family has enough time to notify Mercury Energy well in advance before the power gets cut off that someone in the house needed the electricity. And the family cannot blame Mercury Energy entirely for causing the death because if the oxygen machine is so vital in keeping the mother alive, the family should have called for an ambulance as soon as the power got cut off and not wait until the woman feeling unwell before taking any action.
Peter, Auckland
Helen Clark's claims are yet again ridiculous. Until the exact cause of death is known, the copious amounts of media attention received by this case is purely speculative. If this women was so sick that she expired 2-3 hours after the power was cut was then surely it is the health system (administered by Helen Clark's government)that needs to be accountable. It is an absolute indictment on Helen Clark and her cronies that we have people so poor and so illiterate in this country anyway. (remember none of the family had the presence to call the hospital, an ambulance or seek other assistance till it was too late.) We are a user pays nation, like it or not and as a Mercury customer, I resent subsidising the hangers-on and now it looks like I may be subsidising compensation for this family.
David
The family are clearly responsible for the mothers death. With no plan for back-up electricity supply and the long delay in seeking medical help, only the family members can take responsibility. The family did not look like they were short of money for fast food.
Philip
The PM needs to butt out of this and let the family explain why they didn't pay the bill, nor have any other plan in case of power failure. blatant politicking and for me the final nail in the coffin for my vote. I am sincerely saddened by the death of this woman but it is a mockery to blame anyone other than their own actions that have eventually caused the death. Oh and funny how now they can afford a lawyer but can't afford a $160 bill. Shame shame shame on you all, including you the Herald for this hysteria and frenzy.
Col
PM should stay out of this and let the investigation take place by not holding Mercury energy accountable for everything before the verdict is out. She isn't exactly in any position to tell Mercury what to say when she hid behind her driver by saying that she wasn't aware of the speed they were travelling at!
Roxy
This women should not have died even if their power was cut. It has been said that she died two hours after the power was cut so why didn't her family do anything? Couldn't her husband or sons have plugged in her oxygen machine at a next door neighbour's house when they realised she needed it? Surely they could have at least rung an ambulance from someone else's phone!
Jennifer
This sparks so much more about tragedy and the fact large organisations do not accept responsibility. I am 31 and have had two stepdads die in my life, one when I was 15, and the other in March this year. Both were cases of medical errors. Barry was misdiagnosed, and Murray's x-rays were lost for 6-8 weeks. We know that there was treatment available (surgery) if so much time hadn't have past in error - yet, we cannot hold the medical profession accountable - there is no doubt that they are! Now my mother, my sister and I are left with deep heartbreak knowing that they died unnecessarily. Someone tell me, has human life really become so cheap? In the case of Mercury Energy, their handling of this case is appalling, disgusting in fact. I feel for the family involved, they have a void in their life now that they won't be able to accept, all for the sake of a few dollars. Disgusting.
S. Uputaua
What happened is very sad. What really shocked me, was, the contractor actually went inside, he saw her with the machine, wasn't that enough to convince him?. I have heard this before "I'm only here to do my job" because it happened to me but with a different power company. Their church could have helped the family if they knew about the power bill; but sometime we do not want people to know about our financial difficulties. For the Muliaga family ' stay strong.
Mark Bishop
You are at home and your Mum is hooked up to an oxygen machine to sustain her life. Someone comes and cuts off the power what happens next? Well I would hope that someone just moved her to the neighbours for a while while things got sorted i.e. until Dad got home or ran an extension cord to the neighbours.Where is the drive to survive? Nothing anyone in the house did was to prevent the mum dying... the same apathetic flavour was probably evident when it came to paying the dam power bill but I suppose the videos still got purchased the weekend before? We are steadily becoming a nation of blamers & wimps - if you can't get off your butt to save your mum when will you ever get off it?
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