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Speaker 1: Heather duper c Ellen.

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Speaker 2: New Plumot's mayor Neil Holdham has hit out Labor, saying

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Speaker 2: that the party's position on oil and gas means it

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Speaker 2: has effectively turned the tap off for the New Zealand

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Speaker 2: gas industry. Labor remains committed to rebanning oil and gas

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Speaker 2: exploration if the current government reinstates at which they planing

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Speaker 2: to do, and if Labor managers to get back in.

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Speaker 1: Now.

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Speaker 2: The current electricity crisis has hit Taranaki particularly hard. News

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Speaker 2: today that meth and X has shut down his operation

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Speaker 2: until the end of October. Neil hold Him is with us. Now, Hey, Neil,

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Speaker 2: get a Heather, what's your reaction to the Methadex news.

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Speaker 1: Oh? Look, I mean that they are an awesome company

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Speaker 1: that's basically taking one for the team to keep the

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Speaker 1: lights on for New Zealand because of a failed energy

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Speaker 1: policy that is going to drive up everybody's power bills

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Speaker 1: next year. And I mean I have put the call

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Speaker 1: out to Megan Woods, the energy spokesvis and for Labor

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Speaker 1: and Chris Upkins to tell us, you know, how do

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Speaker 1: they feel about the fact that Huntley has ordered three

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Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty thousand tons of coal for next

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Speaker 1: year based on the fact that we don't have enough gas.

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Speaker 1: And I think you know that their policy was about,

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Speaker 1: you know, turning off the gas industry on the basis

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Speaker 1: that oh, that'll get a change, it will reduce the

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Speaker 1: change the way we run the power system. Well, I've

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Speaker 1: got news for them, and they know this. We're going

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Speaker 1: to build an LNG import facility. It makes sense. It's

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Speaker 1: going to be built in the next two to three years.

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Speaker 1: So trying to kill off local gas, killing off those

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Speaker 1: local jobs, all you're doing is just transferring that money

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Speaker 1: to companies overseas. So they've got an opportunity to come

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Speaker 1: to the party. And realistically, what I've said is, you know,

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Speaker 1: all along, if we can get national and labor to

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Speaker 1: work on a joint policy that's sensible based on science

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Speaker 1: and economics, we can keep our economy going. We can

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Speaker 1: reduce some mission. But when we have this kind of

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Speaker 1: table Tennis like thing, where you know, the electoral outcome

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Speaker 1: changes and the policy changes, no one's going to invest

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Speaker 1: in that environment. And that's why we're short of gas

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Speaker 1: and electricity too.

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Speaker 2: Right, they've put out a statement and they've already killed

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Speaker 2: off one of the things that you're asking for. They say,

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Speaker 2: we have bottom lines. Restarting oil and gas exploration is

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Speaker 2: not something we could agree to.

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Speaker 1: And I think, I mean my message to them is

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Speaker 1: so I my understanding is that labors heavily financially backed

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Speaker 1: by the union. So what about the unionized workers in

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Speaker 1: those sawmills in the Central North Island and the pulp

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Speaker 1: mills and Penrose and Central North Island that have been

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Speaker 1: sent home from work? What about the work is at

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Speaker 1: Methodics that have been sent home, the work is at

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Speaker 1: t y that have been sent home. I mean it

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Speaker 1: seems counterintuitive to say, you know, we're going to stick

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Speaker 1: to our policy despite the fact that it's failed. And

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Speaker 1: the minute that you plug into LNG and the international market,

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Speaker 1: it's like, you know, why would you buy something off

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Speaker 1: shore when you can produce it here?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, totally, Neil. Have you heard for them? I mean,

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Speaker 2: you obviously have a relationship with them, right you spoke

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Speaker 2: to them before they did the oil and gas ban

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Speaker 2: in twenty eighteen. They ignored you. You've obviously reached out

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Speaker 2: to them with what you're saying right now. Have you

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Speaker 2: heard anything from them?

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Speaker 1: I've heard that. Thank you for letting us know the

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Speaker 1: questions are coming, and I've been invited to an event

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Speaker 1: later this month in the Beehive talking about energy policy,

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Speaker 1: and I've said I'll go along because look, I've always

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Speaker 1: had of you that I'll work with all parties, because

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Speaker 1: our goal has been the same thing that Tata MAACKI

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Speaker 1: has been trying to do for a long time. Keep

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Speaker 1: the lights on, work with everybody, find a way forward

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Speaker 1: that works.

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Speaker 2: Neil, what's this event? Are they announcing their energy policy

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Speaker 2: this month?

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Speaker 1: I think it's a sort of an energy summit. I

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Speaker 1: haven't had the details. I just got asked if I

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Speaker 1: wanted to go, and I said, yep, absolutely Keen. I

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Speaker 1: actually asked if they'd be brave enough to let me

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Speaker 1: have a speaking slot so I could share my views

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Speaker 1: and views of the energy businesses operating in Taranaki. So

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Speaker 1: we want to work with everyone, and we want to

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Speaker 1: find that middle way forward that allows people to keep

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Speaker 1: their jobs and you know, to keep exporting goods overseas

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Speaker 1: that pay for all of the government services that people want.

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Speaker 2: Mat thank you so much for your time. Best of

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Speaker 2: luck fighting the good fight on this one. That's Neil

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Speaker 2: Holdham new Plymot smeare for more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive.

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