Much has happened this week, so National’s Hamish Campbell and Labour’s Tracey McLellan joined John MacDonald to delve into the biggest issues.

They discussed whether the Government should underwrite power prices to reduce bills, the viability of Treasury’s solutions to the financial crunch, and the results of the Herald’s annual Mood of the Boardroom survey.

Plus, the ever-hot topic that is the state of Christchurch Hospital’s overwhelmed emergency department.

LISTEN ABOVE

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I got an email from the power company this week, telling me about my weekly electricity use and how much of that is used during my eight hours of free power on Saturdays and Sundays.

Despite doing all the washing and drying during the 16 free hours of power each week, it was only 20%.

No wonder the bills are so expensive. And that’s without teenagers chewing through the power like it used to be not that long ago.

So we probably shouldn’t be surprised by a new survey which says over 60% of people would be in favour of the Government underwriting the cost of new electricity generation, if it meant cheaper power bills.

This is a survey that was done by Curia for Octopus Energy and the Auckland Business Chamber. The results have been released as we are, apparently, just days away from some sort of significant government announcement about the energy sector.

But here’s the question: Is it the Government’s job to make energy prices cheaper?

I think we lost any right to expect the Government to deliver cheaper power prices when the market was reformed by Max Bradford all those years ago. When we got the set-up we’ve got now, which we were promised would mean cheaper power prices.

Because unless the Government buys back all the shares in all the power companies, then I don’t think it is the Government’s job to make energy prices cheaper.

What’s more, the idea of the Government underwriting new generation projects is a bit of a slippery slope. Because why should these companies get the Government being a backstop for them if things go pear-shaped? What about other sectors that have to go it alone without the taxpayer to fall back on?

Energy Minister Simon Watts isn’t saying much, but he’s describing it as something that will be “significant but surgical”.

My view is that the only way the Government could deliver cheaper electricity prices is by buying back all the shares in the big power companies. Resurrecting the old NZ Electricity Department (NZED).

But that’s never going to happen. Shane Jones has talked about it, but I think it’s very unlikely.

And that’s why I think we need to forget about this idea of the Government coming to our rescue.

We don’t expect the Government to make air fares cheaper. We’ve abandoned the idea of the Government making groceries cheaper.

So why should we expect it to make power prices cheaper?

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What’s your message to the new Reserve Bank Governor?

Dr Anna Breman is moving from Sweden to take up the job and will begin her five-year term at the start of December.

I thought it was interesting to hear her say yesterday that one of the first things she plans to do is to travel around the country to meet and listen to people.

She says she wants to meet people in regular households and students, to hear what they’ve got to say.

What would you tell her? What do you think she needs to know?

Back in March, when Adrian Orr quit, my advice to whoever eventually took over was to be the complete opposite of him.

To make sure they stayed in their lane and kept themselves in check. Because when you’re the Reserve Bank governor, your job is to be part of creating a rock star economy – you’re not the rock star yourself.

What I heard yesterday gives me confidence that Dr Breman is going to do exactly that. Keep the ego under control, but more importantly, actually listen to what’s going on.

The fact that one of the first things she plans to do is go around the country and talk to people like you and me, I think that’s brilliant.

But it can’t just be a one-off. She needs to be in Christchurch and Auckland pretty much all the time, as well as Wellington and other parts of the country. Because Auckland and Christchurch are the two powerhouses of New Zealand’s economy.

If I had half an hour with Dr Breman, I’d tell her that she needs to get out of Wellington and talk to real people on a regular basis. To see what people are paying at the supermarket check-outs, to see what people are paying for power, and not just read about it in reports written by officials who can still afford to buy their coffees and lunches and nights out at the weekend.

I suppose what I’m saying is that Dr Breman needs to be a Reserve Bank Governor of the people. That might be a tall order but that’s what I’d say.

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