Mike's Minute: Stop putting the bill on the taxpayer

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

It never takes long to find the bank of the taxpayer.

The Green Building Council has lined the Government up for Lord knows how many millions so we can all ditch our gas heaters, buy heat pumps, and save money and the gas industry.

We talked during the week with businesses who use gas. Some are looking to convert, and some want discretionary loans from you-know-who.

Major gas users met the Minister last Friday to, I assume, state the obvious that we don’t have enough gas, so “something” needs to be done.

Just what the "something is" no one seems to know, given I haven't been given a clear answer to a fairly simple question.

At the big level like Methanex or Ballance, I don’t know if there is an answer. You either pay the price, and presumably pass it on, or you don’t and close down.

At the smaller level, does a grower of something need a government loan or hand out? Should a grower have seen the price of gas and thought to themselves that they might like to inquire about an alternative?

I guess you get that interface between a business being for personal good versus wider good, like jobs and produce and what role a government might play in that.

At a personal level we use gas. The price is a joke. We may or may not need to look at something different, but in the meantime, I'm prepared to foot the bill, and I have no desire to seek help from the government.

If the Green Building Council are right and we all switched to electricity as supplied by rain, wouldn't life be great? But we all know it's not that easy.

We all know the renewable journey has been, and remains, a cluster. We all know a variety of circumstances have coalesced to provide the sort of business environment that leads to big bills, big cutbacks, job losses and lack of growth.

It's an open question as to how much of the lack of gas is about Labour and the killing of an industry versus what we already had, running out faster than we thought.

But is it possible we could have a mindset change, whereby the taxpayer isn't always the first cab off the rank to cover yet more lack of foresight and planning?

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