Whanganui letters: Refining refinery comments, Three Waters debt

The decommissioning of the Marsden Point refinery, south of Whangārei, left Kapuni as the sole domestic liquid CO2 supplier. Photo / NZME

In response to Graham Holloway’s letter (January 18) regarding the closure of the refinery, I would like to make the following points.

First, the refinery company is privately owned by a consortium of energy companies.

Second, they took this decision for commercial reasons only known to themselves.

Third, the Kapuni plant is also privately owned.

Fourth, these operations while important are not operated at the behest of any government.

Fifth, Mr Holloway criticises the Labour Government while not acknowledging that the right-wing parties he obviously supports would have done no different; and I use the sale of electricity generation and supply to support my argument.

Sixth, Helen Clark’s government did buy back KiwiRail only to see it underfunded by the John Key Government that followed.

Seventh, imagine the furore if Labour decided to nationalise the fuel importation and refining industry which I think is being suggested here.

I think that we need to get over our shortsighted ideologically driven lifestyle and move on from what is out of our control and work together for a better future for our country.

I despair when I have elderly people telling me that boy racer cars are funded by the Government and they don’t like women with beards reading prime-time TV news.

There may be hope but I struggle to see it if voters have beliefs and opinions that are actually just dumb.

MIKE WALKER

Fordell

WEARING WATER DEBT

Ken Carvell (Whanganui Chronicle letters on January 19) espouses the limiting of costs to ratepayers by co-governance Three Waters.

According to John Roberston, Waitomo mayor (column in Whanganui Chronicle, January 17), this is not a truth.

In the same week the Government passed the Water Services Entities Act 2022 (regardless of 88,000 submissions against it), they sneakily, within a week, introduced another Bill to amend it.

The massive debt each of the four entities will need to borrow, will cause the lender of such debt to require security.

The amended bill states that the security will come from us ratepayers exclusively.

Robertson writes: “The bill proposes that lenders will secure their debts through a property rating mechanism. Should a water entity get into financial difficulty and a receiver be appointed, the receiver would be able to bill local authority ratepayers a uniform charge to recover the entity’s debt”.

So the billions and billions borrowed won’t fall on central government co-governance, no it will fall on us, local ratepayers.

A uniform charge over and above our allotted rates. Think about that.

LAURINE CURRIN

Whanganui East

VINTAGE WEEKEND

Magnifico, splendifico - what a peach of a Vintage Weekend.

The sun shone and the good folks came out in their hundreds. Congratulations to everyone involved, the cars were amazing, bands played their hearts out, events were humming and venues looked full.

We played to full houses the entire time.

Brilliantly promoted weekend and good to see so many folks enjoying themselves after a long time.

We will definitely be back next year, bigger and better than ever.

Well done Whanganui.

MARK MORTON

President - Whanganui Rep Theatre