KEY POINTS:
Here is another selection of Your Views:
NG
About five years ago, my wife and I returned from hospital with a very sick newborn. In the mailbox was a letter from Mercury saying that we were overdue and about to be disconnected. I rang and explained the situation, said that I would be paying within a couple of days and also pointed out that we were only 10 or so days overdue anyway. To this day, I remember the power being cut at 7:30 the next morning and the sight of the contractor running down our driveway and jumping into his car before I could make it out the door. Although we were not in a life threatening situation, I had explained to Mercury's accounts department that our child was very sick and we were dependent on the power. The fact that Mercury would put the payment of their (slightly overdue) bill ahead of our situation amazed me, and I have never used the company since. My heart goes out to the family of Mrs. Muliaga. This is such a senseless act. Any of Mercury's customers who have faced disconnection know that their statements yesterday regarding disconnection procedures are a bare faced lie. I think that this is a perfect example of why the laws should be changed to include a Corporate Manslaughter charge, and I believe that Mercury directors should be facing it. Possibly not for the first time.
Kim Morrow
I cancelled my power account with Mercury Energy six months ago as I found their staff impossible to deal with over the telephone. My husband was in hospital and the account was held in his name I wanted to pay the overdue bill but did not have a copy as with all the disruption in our home I could not find it. The staff members who I spoke with were incredibly condescending and rude and refused to help me settle the bill as it was not in my name. I am with another power company now whom I telephone when my bill is late and I am always treated with courtesy. As a sign of protest against the nasty company ethos I suggest everyone cancels their account with Mercury Energy.
Tania
I am a middle wage pakeha earner with two children. I have been in a position in the past where I have struggled to pay all of my bills on time (worse in winter) and have always found any power company totally unapproachable. They have no compassion and are bullies. I am sure that they listen to sob stories all the time, but in the real world, sometimes things become difficult, even for the average wage earner, and there does need to be some sort of fairness with the actions of these companies. I had one instance that I had paid my power account, had the receipt etc, and a contractor turned up and disconnected my power at the pole outside the property, when I showed him the account and receipt, he told me to take it up with my supplier. I did this, and gee to my surprise they had made a mistake, and sent the contractor back out to resupply my power at no charge! What a cheek. I was without for 3 hours from 4pm to 7pm. The companies as a whole have a lot to answer for, maybe not just the contractor.
Chelsea
If the contractor had known that turning off the power would cause a death, it is fairly obvious that he would not have turned it off.The question is whether or not he knew it could pose some sort of health risk. If he was informed of this - then he did have a moral obligation to notify Mercury before taking any action.In any case, while the family shouldn't' have been forced to, they needed to take further action (extension cords?!)and needed to notifiy the hospital to seek further advice as soon as the power was switched off.While this may have prevented the death, if Mercury was informed even of the possibility of it causing health risks or serious discomfort then the responsibility lies with them.
Scott McCabe
what about the responsibility of the health dept that issued the piece of equipment? If it was life threatening if it stopped working,one would think that they would ensure that it had adequate back up power supply if a power outage occurred, say as a result of car crash or substation fault!
Toni
My thoughts are with the family at this tragic time. I do wonder though, why they are blaming Mercury given that the power was turned off and two hours later the mother died. Could an ambulance have not been rung? Could they have not put her in the car and driven to a friends house who had electricity? Perhaps they could have gone to a neighbours? One must wonder what the family did in those 2 hours because I feel they had plenty of other options open to them and Mercury is not solely at fault here.
Wayne
Imagine the uproar that would occur if Mercury Energy declared bankruptcy because they had to supply power to all their debtors.
Liz
I think it is customary for New Zealanders to point the blame at other people. In this particular case the family refuses to acknowledge that her health was in trouble because she was obese, she didn't die due to the power being cut but because her heart/lungs couldn't endure the strain and stress anymore. I mean sure it was unfair for the contractor to cut the power, but he was unaware of the severity of her condition, only a doctor could know that. I don't think there is any one person to blame. If she was so reliant on the oxygen, the hospital shouldn't have released her unto the care of her family, who clearly couldn't look after her. The family shouldn't be blaming the power company for her death when it seems she would have died anyway, as she already had heart disease. Perhaps they should think of this incident as more of a catalyst rather than a cause? If they were so tight up for money, they should have informed WINZ or the hospital instead of waiting for this seemingly inevitable thing to occur.
George Rosecrans (USA)
While I know it is a bit late for Mrs. Muliaga, I would like to pay her electric bill. I will ask two things of the Mercury Energy. First, Mrs. Muliaga's immediate family never be billed for electricty again. Second, that their power is never disconnected again. Personally, I feel that is the least they can do for her family. By the time this matter is settled in the courts of public opinion and law, the last thing the Muliaga family will need to face is another bill from the company that killed their wife and mother.While I do not have the financial resources to come to New Zealand and pay this personally, I can afford this bill. How do I pay this on behalf of the Muliaga family as I would not want Mercury Energy to collapse financially, for the want of NZ 122 dollars.
Peter
Obviously more facts will emerge with time, but I find it remarkable that the immediate family appear to take no responsibility for their part in this fiasco. Why were the power bills not paid? Surely not for lack of money? There certainly appears to be a surfeit of money for food, so perhaps it is a matter of not setting the correct priorities? Certainly, if I had allowed my mother to die in this fashion, for this reason, I would be hiding under a rock somewhere, not disporting myself on TV attempting to garner sympathy and compensation.Again, I am disappointed with the media and in particular Mr Campbell. Why do they always follow up the command chain to blame someone, rather than questioning the parties directly involved and therefore most likely, with some effort/thought to have been in the best position to have affected the outcome? I understand that personal responsibility is an old fashioned concept but how does a group of adults and near-adults stand by and allow this to happen? Where are their friends? Family? Church?
B.Bowker
I've been dealing with the company Mercury Energy for the pass two weeks(still no power) .As my power had been disconnected from a $180 overdue power bill. I cleared the bill and even over paid the account to hopefully get my power reconnected . After 4-5 phone calls and talking to representatives of the company "mercury energy" was told that I would have to stay on grounds or in the household from 2days to 24 hours as Mercury energy contractors could turn up at any time I've tried to work around this by allowing them to ring me with a rough timeframe or allowing to them contact the office of the complex I stay in but have been turned away on all. With them saying I needed to have someone over the age of 16 in the house . Now I live and are alone in Auckland and been working long hours just to try and get money together so taking 24hours off of a job is really as many NZer would realize just not practical and Mercury were unwilling to comprise any work a rounds(to me their contractors were pretty much free agents with means to do the job in any fashion) so the fact that a contractor has acted in this manner and such a event has arisen is really no surprise to me.
Patrick Rossiter
A few points: 1. If the oxygen machine was a critical device why did it not have battery backup in case of power failure? 2. Why did the mother tell the son not to call the ambulance? 3. Are people seriously suggesting that power companies not have the right to cut off power under any circumstances? 4. Why is Gerry Brownlee using this situation for political advantage? 5. Can we have some serious discussion of alternatives and approaches rather than hysterical finger-pointing? Can we get the cameras and reporters away from the family who have a right to some space to grieve?
Richard Z
Thanks Trevor Mallard - leading from the front on the big issues as usual - not.
private
The contractors involved need to come forward and defend themselves, there is something missing in this puzzle. I believe the contractors were not told of the mothers plight - I think we need to look at our health system as well, should this very ill lady have been allowed home? Should the health board concerned not have kept her in hospital given she is ill?
Carol
If the family knew power was being cut, was there any reason they didn't move her to someones home with power or call an ambulance? I don't think anyone deserves to die from a power failure, however are the power companies also expected to be social services and know everything about everyone they service?
Ru Wihongi
Is there any address people can send money to help the family? I'm in Sydney, Oz.
Casey
This family had a least 2 hours to get their mother/wife medical attention after the power was cut, why didn't they phone an ambulance or get a neighbour to help out until the situation was sorted. Why should people who are sick not have to pay their power bills? This is not the fault of Mercury Energy or the contractor who switched the power off, the family would have had at least an hour or 2 to arrange something to help their mother/wife.
Susan O'Neill
OK, the power company turned the power off, but what happened in the two hours from turning power off till the mother died, sorry kids, you must take some blame here, you should have called an ambulance. As of yet no one knows what the mother died of wait and see instead of drumming up waves of sympathy for the family and hatred for the power company.Did the family really try to resolve the power bill issue over the past 7 weeks. Sorry again kids but you did not come off as telling the whole truth on TV last night, sad as it is on losing a mother and wife, the family is also culpable in her death with their total inaction after the power was cut off, are we supposed to give free power to people that are hard up while the rest of us pay.
Kieran
Once again, people are jumping to conclusions before any definitive evidence or information has come to light. Too often the public and the idiots who influence them don't look at all the facts, or lack the patience to wait for a proper investigation. And that's not taking into consideration what the family has been saying. There are numerous inconsistencies in their story, on TV3 news at 10.30 they described how the contractor "laughed" when they said their mother needed the oxygen. How likely does that sound? It's all an effort to dehumanise the contractor who most probably didn't know and wasn't made aware. Of course, naturally the deceased woman made every effort to preserve her life. Oh wait, no she didn't. Instead of calling an ambulance when she had breathing difficulties, she got her children to sing hymns. Instead of running a cord to the neighbour's house or transporting the machine to a neighbour's house she just sat and waited to die.Last but not least, doctors have been "surprised" at her dying so quickly. As the machine wasn't even supposed to be essential to life, only as a breathing assistent, not as a breathing substitute. Everything smacks of inconsistencies on the part of the family.
Gary
Whilst the circumstances are devastating for the family, what would have happened in a normal power cut? If she was so ill and dependent on the oxygen machine, why was she released from hospital? Is there a question for the CMDHB to answer?What was her medical follow up? Its all very well blaming a faceless contractor who would also be going through hell now, but there are other questions that need to be asked. Had the medical authorities released an unwell person back home without proper thought and follow up?
Kathryn
I firstly have to say that it is sad that a family has lost its mother. Secondly, I have say that blaming the power company for their mothers death is not going to help. The fact that her death happened 2 hours after the power was turned off does not mean that it is the companys fault. Why could they not take the mother and the machine to a next door neighbour, or ring an ambulance to take her to the hospital. If the power was so important and the hospital knew of her condition, I'm pretty sure the hospital had power that day. I think the family is feeling guilty for letting her stay at home when in fact she should've been taken to hospital if she was ill and was in fact finding it hard to breath for 2 hours! It's unfortunate that it happened, but if there had been an outage cos of an accident and she died 2 hours later who could they have blamed then.
Ru Wihongi
This tragic event is at root a symptom of the effects of poverty which NZ parties have canvassed over the past couple of years. There needs to be more compassion to those in financial situations where power is to be cut off, because it affects each member of the family and their individual needs, and government departments need to support families and in some way intervene on their behalf.
Anon
Wow. This is a terribly tragic story all round. The most terribly tragic part, however, seems to be that her family sat back and watched this happen.Does anyone else here get the feeling that the power company has been set up a little? How many times do people have to be warned to pay their bill before they actually get off their butts and explain their situation to somebody? I have one main question here really - how many times did the family go to the power company and try to make an arrangement to pay the bill, even in small installments? I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that if you are showing the power company that you are attempting to pay the bill, they will help you, and certainly won't cut your power off. The power company also had no letter from the hospital, alerting them to the need for continuous power to that address. How can they possibly be held responsible for this, if they were unaware of the situation for the most part? Now, I know this is just me, but if my mother were at home on a life-support machine, I would make sure the power company knew from the outset that I was making every attempt to get the bill paid to keep the power going for my sick mother. No confusion, just communication.Also, the hospital cannot be held accountable - they advised that an ambulance should be called if any such situations arose. How much more can they do? If my mother, in the same situation, declined to call an ambulance, there is no way I could stop myself from taking matters into my own hands and calling one anyway! It is a terrible tragedy that this woman lost her life, but I'm afraid it seems to be a case of both her and her family not fighting hard enough for her life. There are just too many places along the line that this could have been avoided with seemingly relative ease, and this family are the common factors.
matt
Wait and see what the Police investigation reveals before we pick up our shotguns and pickaxes to form a lynch mob. It is unlikely the power disconnection is the primary cause of death, as power supply is never guaranteed and can fail at anytime for numerous reasons. It may even be completely unrelated. There may be a case to answer, but it is not up to the media to decide, and letting the police complete a thorough investigation could ruin a good story.
Robyn Denison
I believe the hospital has to take some responsibility for this outcome. Was there community follow-up on this patient after she was sent home? Why did the community nurse not know that the machine was being used 24/7? How many home visits were made? Why were the family not educated about the condition and why were there not measures in place to use in emergency situations? Why did the power company not delay the disconnection for even 24hrs to clarify the situation? Thanks for the opportunity to state my view.
Libby
An interesting thought....
A lot of Island Churches ask for a donation from its members. You have to commit to giving a set minimum per cent of your wage every week regardless if you can afford it. If you can't afford to live once the church has taken its cut you have to get a 2nd job (which the church also takes it's percentage of). I wonder if this family belonged to a Church like this. If it is the case the Church should also be looked at for some of the blame. If this family was committed to still paying the church a large sum of money even though they couldn't afford to and desperately needed the money for other things, it may help to explain why a $200 power bill went unpaid.
Mercury Supporter
To those who have switched power companies- great! Mercury Energy is better off without narrow minded, ignorant busy bodies.The family should be held for manslaughter. Who in there right mind, would (a) not call an ambulance (b) not send your loved one to hospital if they are terminally ill (c) not help out with bills whilst a family member is sick (d) not communicate to your utility provider when they are threatening to cut off the power for more than a month?This is clearly a very sad case of 'trying to get something out of nothing'. Mercury Energy money hungry? I don't think so. This woman clearly should have been in hospital otherwise she would have died anyway. Time to face the facts. Mercury Energy are not responsible for the death, full stop.
Next