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Coal Workers Laid Off While Coal Being Imported
Andrew Williams MP
Spokesperson for Energy
25 September 2012
Coal Workers Laid Off While Coal Being Imported
New Zealand First says Finance Minister Bill English is out of touch after he failed to explain why 63 workers at the state-owned Solid Energy Huntly coal mine have lost their jobs while the state-owned Genesis Energy Huntly Power Station has been importing coal from Indonesia.
The questions were put to Mr English during Question Time in Parliament today.
Energy Spokesperson Andrew Williams says the Huntly Power Station was specifically built to capitalise on coal fields in the area.
“It is ridiculous that one SOE is reducing coal production and laying off workers while another SOE has been importing coal to produce power.
“The Government’s left hand quite clearly does not know what the right hand is doing. Meanwhile New Zealand jobs are disappearing before our eyes.
“This also puts the planned sale of 49 per cent of Solid Energy under a cloud at a time when Mighty River Power has issues with water rights.
“The wheels of the Government’s state-owned asset sales have well and truly fallen off,” says Mr Williams.
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