The following is ACT Energy and Resources spokesman Simon Court's response to news of mill closures at Winstone Pulp in Ruapehu.

Labour’s economic vandalism has come home to roost in Ruapehu.

Today around 230 workers heard confirmation they’ve lost their livelihoods with the closure of two Winstone Pulp mills.

Mills have to pay for energy, and lots of it. When there’s a shortage of energy coming from our hydro lakes, and we can’t make up the difference with natural gas, prices rise and profits become losses.

The previous Government’s kamikaze approach to climate change crashed the reliability of our energy supply. The Lake Onslow Hydro proposal frightened off desperately needed private sector investment in new generation.

The oil and gas ban made things even worse. It told energy companies not to bother exploring, even under a new Government, because a future Labour government would just shut them down again.

Of course, rising energy costs came on top of painful inflation and high interest rates – the legacy of Labour’s COVID spending splurge that made running any kind of business more difficult.

We can’t rely on a miracle here. We need to get real about the role of gas in our energy supply, focus on lowering costs instead of spending on boondoggles, and restore New Zealand's status as a safe place to invest.

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Restoring energy security will take time but sadly Winstone Pulp’s workers have none. Many will leave Ruapehu for greener economic pastures, taking their families with them, and leaving fewer customers and workers behind for the remaining shops and factories. This is how regional communities get hollowed out from the inside.

In Government, ACT is doing its part to turn the tide. By cutting back wasteful spending in Wellington, we’ve seen inflation track down, and now interest rates are following.

We’re also tackling energy shortages. We repealed Labour’s oil and gas ban. But it’s time for Chris Hipkins to come to the table and take some responsibility. We’ve invited him to join a cross-party accord giving energy companies confidence that they can invest without the threat of being made unviable or illegal by a future Labour Government.

We know his party doesn't like natural gas. But even he ought to be able to see how gas saved households from blackouts through the winter. So, we wait in hope.

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