1 Oct: 350 Aotearoa says today’s energy announcement is a damp squib — offering cosmetic fixes while failing to tackle rising prices, energy poverty, or the urgent need for more renewable generation. Households and communities continue to pay the price while fossil fuels remain central to government policy.
350 Aotearoa Co-Director Alva Feldmeier said, “Today’s plan props up the status quo, letting gentailers keep extracting profits from struggling communities and funnelling them to shareholders, instead of reinvesting in the renewable generation New Zealand urgently needs. Successive governments have known for years that the gas crisis was coming. Instead of pulling the levers to speed up renewable generation, we’re now seeing taxpayer money thrown at LNG import terminals and new gas fields. This does nothing to secure a reliable or affordable energy future. Instead, it locks us into more climate-damaging fossil fuels at the very moment we should be phasing them out.”
The announcement follows Budget 2025’s pledge to invest $200 million in new gas exploration, which was decried as a “clear breach” of the ACTS international trade agreement. There remains no comprehensive national energy strategy to ensure New Zealand transitions towards the cleanest, most reliable, and most affordable electricity system in the world.
“Energy poverty is rising while the government refuses to use its power to intervene as the majority shareholder in three gentailers. Today’s announcements misread the room – they are cosmetic at best and ignore what consumer groups have been demanding: real action to bring down costs and end energy hardship.”
Edward Miller, Researcher at the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (CICTAR), says: “Almost a decade of underinvestment in new renewable generation has helped safeguard the role of fossil fuels as the backup security valve in our electricity sector. When needed, these expensive dirty units set the price for cheap renewables, delivering windfall returns and discouraging decarbonisation. This is why in 2022 we argued that thermal fuel generation should be transferred to a state-owned and operated special purpose vehicle with a legislative purpose of sustaining energy security at lowest cost, with an upper price limit on thermal generation.”
“New Zealanders believe our electricity sector should be an engine for economic development and decent livelihoods- so much so that even this government, which champions private investment wherever they can, wouldn’t touch further privatisation. That toxicity shows why meaningful reform and greater public control is urgently needed,” said Miller.
350 Aotearoa welcomed confirmation that there will be no further electricity asset sales, noting that privatisation was a major factor in creating today’s energy affordability and security crisis.
350 Aotearoa is urging the government to develop a clear energy strategy that:
- Accelerate New Renewable Energy Generation – Force gentailers to reinvest in renewables, build 750MW of community-owned energy by 2035, and rule out new coal or gas.
- Safeguard Communities from Energy Poverty – End energy hardship for over 110,000 households, ensure a tika transition that honours Te Tiriti, and put communities most affected at the centre of decisions.
- Fix Market Failures and Build Resilience – Break up gentailer monopolies, invest in distributed renewable infrastructure, and create good, secure jobs in the transition.
“New Zealand has everything it takes to lead the world in renewable energy. What’s missing is political will and a desire to truly seek to understand the systemic failures of our electricity system and the scale of change needed to address them. Today’s announcement shows this government is still falling short”, Feldmeier ads.
ENDS
Upset by this announcement and want to add your voice to the call for a long-term Energy Strategy and homegrown solutions? Find out more about our campaign and sign our petition.