Questions to Ask National Candidates

Questions that you could ask Candidates at Meet the Candidates meetings before the November 2011 General Elections.

• • During the current National Government's term in office, the public of New Zealand have been denied access to two very important documents which have since been released to us under the Official Information Act:

In 2009 the National Government was presented with a document called the 2009 Ministerial Report on Oil Prices and Resilience in the Transport Sector which outlined some of the vulnerabilities that New Zealand faces.

In 2010 The Ministry of Transport commissioned the Bolland Report to provide independant advice on the costs and benefits of rail vs road for freight transport - which found in favour of rail.

• • In May 2011 the International Energy Agency announced , following its study of 800 of the world's oil fields, that they now believe the peak in conventional oil production actually occurred in 2006,

that unconventional sources (natural gas and tar sands) were extremely unlikely to make up the shortfall, concluding that 'the age of cheap oil is over'

and that consequently governments around the world urgently need to reduce their vulnerability to increasing fossil fuel prices.

Q.1. Is the National Government aware of this advice from the International Agency ?

( Acting Minister of Energy Hekia Parata, in her 21 June 2011 reply to this question reveals that you aren't )

Q. 2.How is National's intention to spend $11billion of our public funds on its Roads of 'National' Significance and to close down several of our strategically essential railways, consistant with this advice ?

Q. 3.And why did the the National Government use the Official Information Act to deny access to the previously mentioned documents ?

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These questions are designed to draw attention to National's inappropriate and strategically dangerous approach to the provision of transport infrastructure.

When presented with these facts, people will reach their own conclusion:

that the National government's actions are inconsistant with best available advice and that consequently they can not be trusted on two critically important strategic areas that underpin New Zealand's economy and society: Energy and Transport.

Alan Preston in Mangawhai for Save Our Rail Northland and The Way Forward 2011

Tel. (09)4315389