Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Is this thing on?

Having recently emerged from the attack of the small font thingo in the HTML I am at liberty to explain the latest round of Gubblement shonkyness in these here islands. Islands which may change their names upsetting Angry White Men as they contemplate the destruction of all that is holy, a 1/4 acre section, a big arse teevee and a bigger arse SUV. The natural god-given resources god gave us when he made NZ out of pie crusts (some of the AWG's are a little weak on theology).
Well what has happened is that some time ago, we graciously gave away 15% of our electricty to an an a-loo-min-num smelting company and they, very graciously said "You call this cheap? Why, if we weren't making money hand-over-fist we'd be very cross" which they repeated for 40 years.
 Now it seems that they are not making as much money as before and this is NOT FAIR. They have threatened to take their bat and ball and aluminium smelter and GO HOME AND HA HA TO YOUSE.
Similtaneously the Conservative gubblement has being doing it's usual party piece and trying to flog all the hard earned fruits of the honest kiwi battlers who paid for the sodding electricity grid in the fecking first place.
So The Guvnors want to flog off a power company and the Aluminium chaps want to get cheaper power or they will shut up shop. If they do go, there will suddenly be 15% more power around and thus the price will go down and thus the power company will not look so attractive to overseas pirates who are, apparently, slavering at the thought of that juicy power company.
 But 'cept the guvnors have assured us that "Kiwi Mum and Dad" (actual phrase used) investors will get first crack at the shares in the power company and it will remain forever kiwi. Yes, of course I own the bridge, I wouldn't be selling it if I didn't own it.
So the guvnors have offered to subsidise international Mining company Rio Tinto so that they can bravely keep making aluminium. But, of course, Rio Tinto is the name of an ancient Carthagian mine which means "hard arse gougers" in the ancient Carthagian and they have refused the paltry 70 squillon dollars the guvnors have stumped up and are re-explaining that they will bugger off and that will be that.
All of which is a bit much at a time when the government is going to shut schools and gut the Department of conservation who are supposed to look after the wilderness and wildlife including the Kakapo (so we are told, I haven't seen that confirmed).
Ah well, getting sold down the river by these creeps is turning into the new normal.

9 comments:

Smut Clyde said...

It is weird all right. The aluminium smelter keeps electricity prices artificially high for all other industries and consumers in the country (what with getting 1/7th of the generating capacity at about 1/4 the usual price)...

The proprietors are now crying the poor mouth about not making enough money and they want a *further* subsidy...

The power company, though publicly-owned, is supposed to operate by market principles and do what is best for its own profits -- which obviously in this case means Wishing Rio Tinto a Happy Fuck-You, hoping they don't slam the door after they leave, and selling that power at a better price to other industries. This has the bonus of benefitting everyone else. So the Gubblement has taken over the negotiations and locked out the power company so they can nut out a deal that will cost a humungous amount of money in order to keep electrickery prices artificially high and make some of that money back by privatising power companies.

Which is basically what AK said already, also he said it better.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Ahh. Privatizing the profits while socializing the costs?

Popular with plutocrats everywhere. Sprinkle freely with Randroid nonsense, and serve steaming.
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Sirius Lunacy said...

I thought Rio Tinto was Spanish for "polluted river" which seems an unusaully honest name for a mining company. And it appears to me that for the cost of one years subsidy the government could buy them enough solar panels and wind generators to keep them in free electricity forever.

OBS said...

This sounds very familiar. The alumiNUM plant in The Dalles, Oregon shut down a while back -- evidently the cheap hydropower wasn't flavorful enough or some shit. After the plant was demolished, Google built a huge data centER there, after demanding tax incentives from the city/county to do so. They liked the spot because of -- you guessed it -- the cheap hydropower.

I'm sure at some point they'll also demand even fresher, tastier power and a better tax deal and threaten to leave, at which point yet another industry wanting cheap power will demand tax breaks to take advantage of the cheap power, and the cycle will start anew.

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

They have threatened to take their bat and ball and aluminium smelter and GO HOME AND HA HA TO YOUSE.

Their aluminium bat! Don't let the door hit your arse on the way out, gentlemen.

Smut Clyde said...

Latest developments courtesy of teh Dim-Post.

Substance McGravitas said...

But 'cept the guvnors have assured us that "Kiwi Mum and Dad" (actual phrase used) investors will get first crack at the shares in the power company and it will remain forever kiwi.

This is why Canada's oldest and best-loved businesses are in foreign hands.

Free smelter if they leave I guess...

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

I think there is a Hugh opportunity for the Riddelled play company to develop this story into a prequel to the Hobbit.
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Hamish Mack said...

Thundra is banned for jokes about spelling.