Stakeholder Feedback
13. Since October, officials have held six stakeholder workshops in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, focusing on specific issues raised in the document and potential next steps in addressing these issues. They have also attended a number of external conferences or seminars to give presentations on the document and received numerous comments on the document via an email address. Key points to note from the engagement are:
- the sustainable energy document was generally well-received, and few questioned its main thrust;
- some thought it lacked a sense of urgency, and/or was too narrowly focussed (concentrated on energy as opposed to the contribution of energy to sustainable development);
- there was a general desire for the government to articulate a clearer strategy for achieving sustainable energy objectives over both the short and long term, although the term "strategy" tended to mean different things to different people, the main difference being the extent of prescription favoured;
- there was general agreement that any strategy should:
- place an increased emphasis on the use of renewables and energy efficiency while maintaining a high level of assurance as to energy security;
- encourage more sustainable transport use;
- encourage better use of research, science and technology policy;
- promote a higher level of awareness of the energy challenges facing New Zealand; and
- develop a more informed and inclusive decision-making process;
- the workshops attracted a wide range of interests although business interests were not strongly represented.
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