Gentailers threaten 25% power price hikes

The six key news items from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, May 19 are:

1. The lobby group for the big electricity gentailers has warned the Electricity Authority that consumer power prices could rise 25% if the market is reformed to force Meridian, Contact, Genesis & Mercury to offer their own ‘internal’ wholesale prices to independent retailers. See more below in Doc of the Day.

2. Green co-leader Chloe Swarbrick is foreshadowing a fiscal strategy proposal to challenge current orthodoxy that New Zealand’s Government can’t handle debt of above 50% of GDP. See more below in video of the day.

3. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown wants the Government to grant Aucklanders some control over immigration settings, arguing the Crown benefits from high migration through GST & PAYE revenues, but doesn’t have to pay for local infrastructure. See more detail below.

4. Hospices and other charities are finding the Government’s real funding cuts are hitting them doubly. That’s because whenever they try to fill the gaps by approaching donors, they find their donors have also been hit by funding cuts. See more in quote of the day below.

5. New Plymouth District Mayor Neil Holdom says central government requires councils to deliver 40% of public infrastructure with 9% of national taxes. See more in number of the day below.

6. In good climate and health news we should emulate, Paris has cut its air pollution by 50% by adding 680 bike lanes and banning cars on 100 roads. See more in chart of the day below.

There’s more analysis below the paywall fold and in my daily podcast above for paying subscribers.¹

Six key things to know on Monday, May 19