Vol. 71/No. 27      July 9, 2007

The death dominated headlines in this country for days and put a spotlight on the situation facing thousands of working people unable to pay their power bills.

Folole Muliaga, a preschool teacher, had been ill and unable to work since January. Following hospital treatment, she returned home May 11 with an oxygen machine to assist her breathing. Folole’s husband, Lopaavea, is a hotel kitchen hand, earning NZ$12 an hour (NZ$1 = US 75 cents), slightly above minimum wage. Without Folole’s wages, the Muliaga family struggled to meet everyday expenses.

The couple and their four children moved to New Zealand six years ago from Samoa, a former New Zealand colony.

The family had made two partial payments on their electricity bill over the previous month, but still owed NZ$168.40. Mercury Energy, the power company, sent a contractor to disconnect their electricity May 29.

When the family exposed the death in the media, Mercury Energy chiefs initially responded that they had done nothing wrong. “Mercury: We’re in the clear,” proclaimed the front page of the New Zealand Herald June 1. But as the story was picked up by news media around the world, Prime Minister Helen Clark led the way in seeking to minimize the damage. “My advice to Mercury Energy is, stop digging. The public is outraged by what has happened. These excuses just aren’t going to wash. ‘Fess up, say you made a mistake,” she told the power company.

Muliaga family member and spokesperson Brenden Sheehan called for the managers of the state-owned power company to be fired.

Clark announced the government would introduce new guidelines for procedures to be followed by electricity companies when dealing with unpaid bills. Sheehan responded that the move was not enough. He called for regulations that are enforceable and backed by penalties.

Amid the controversy the public got a glimpse of the scale of domestic electricity disconnections taking place. Although most power companies refuse to disclose figures, the government revealed that its social welfare agency handles 32,000 cases a year. Mercury Energy, with 350,000 accounts in Auckland, told the government that it disconnects 150 households a day.

Over the past decade, electricity prices have increased at more than double the inflation rate. Previously owned and controlled by the government and elected local bodies, the utility was broken up and privatized through a series of measures in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

“My family’s tragedy was caused by lack of money,” Brenden Sheehan told a 40-strong union rally outside the Centra hotel June 11. Workers at the hotel, where Lopaavea Muliaga works, have been conducting rolling strikes and pickets to demand improved wages. “It’s time to unite against bosses who won’t pay a decent wage,” Sheehan said.

“Our fight is also about conditions,” Paul Butler, a worker at the hotel, told the rally. “We are constantly understaffed and threatened by management.”

Police announced June 12 that they would not charge anyone over Folole’s death.

The Muliaga family has condemned how they were treated during the police investigation of the death and have lodged a complaint.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home