Storting representative Bård Ludvig Thorheim from the Conservative Party advocates in a feature on news Ytring that Norway must achieve the same population growth as in northern Sweden. Fortunately for him, our government is well on its way to reversing the trend, after eight years of systematic downgrading under Erna Solberg’s governments. Because it matters who rules. After eight years of a red-green government, we experienced that all three northern Norwegian counties had population growth at the same time. After eight years of right-wing government, this had turned into a new population decline. The time for the deconstruction of Northern Norway is over, and now we are back at it building Northern Norway! The list of measures is too long to reproduce in its entirety here, but I will mention some of them: • Free kindergarten and increased rates for debt cancellation of student loans for people in Finnmark and Nord-Troms are part of this. Under the Conservative Party, nothing happened in this regard. • The maximum fares on the FOT routes are halved. Cheaper plane tickets tie the country together and ensure more equal opportunities. Thorheim advocated cheaper plane tickets. A few months later, the right-wing government increased prices. Again. • We are doubling the allocation to municipal fishing ports. Under the Conservative Party, this post was systematically cut. • We are starting the development of Husøy and Kjøllefjord harbour, and Vardø harbor is about to follow suit. Under Høyre, there was a complete halt to planning the state fishing ports as early as 2018. • Free ferries have been introduced. In Nordland alone, 23 out of 26 connections are covered by this, the last three get half price. Under the Conservative Party, ferry prices rose steadily, on the E6 connection over Tysfjord they managed to double the price in eight years! • We are starting the new E6 in Sørfold. The project was already ready in 2016, but the Conservative Party did not find room to start it in the six subsequent budgets. • The Absentee grant will increase by NOK 829 a month from autumn 2024. It was almost silent for eight years, while those who have to live in dormitories from the autumn will receive almost NOK 10,000 more a year than with the Conservative Party. • NOK 1,660 million goes to Bodø Airport and the new airport at Mo i Rana. Høyre had the ball on the penalty mark several years in a row, but never found the money to get the shovel in the ground. • We are building a 420 kV line from Skaidi to Hammerfest. Many shouted loudly about the need when the Conservative Party ruled, but they were not heard. Ample access to clean and affordable power is crucial to creating growth in the northernmost part of the country. The big problem for companies in Northern Norway is that many get their projects turned down because there is no more online access. Statnett has therefore, commissioned by the government, reviewed the network capacity, to clear the queue and see if it is possible to provide network connection to more companies in Northern Norway. In total, Statnett has decided to set aside 465 MW of increased consumption for seven consumers in the area north of Ofoten. It provides power for hydrogen and ammonia investment in Narvik, for industry in Troms, data center in Andøy and farming. In addition, hydrogen projects are on the way in both Berlevåg, Hammerfest, Bodø, Mo i Rana and Sandnessjøen, to name a few. Through the government’s power package, we finally get the power to build the county, after this stopped under the Solberg government. This is the Northern Sweden model in practice. Thorheim thinks it is too slow to get started with offshore wind in the north. I think that’s brilliant! But in the right-wing government’s energy report just before the election, there was no investment in offshore wind, and offshore wind in Northern Norway was not mentioned at all. With the Labor Party and the Center Party in government, there will be investment in offshore wind, and the north will be involved from the start. Thorheim wants investment in space technology. Travel to Andøy, Bård Ludvig! Eight years of discouragement and uncertainty have turned to optimism and faith in the future after the change of government. Our government’s investment in Andøya Space, combined with the provision of important functions at the air station, means that the Andøy community may have growing pains, while through the investment Norway takes an international position in space travel! And at last we are building up the Armed Forces, after many years of downsizing. It is in the north that we need to defend the country. The military threat at Svinesund is limited, to put it mildly. The Labor Party is strengthening staffing in the Army by forcing parts of planned staffing in 2024, mostly in Brigade Nord and Finnmark land defence. We spend approximately NOK 200 million on the construction of homes, extensions and other EBA at Porsangmoen. What is Høyre’s position on these measures? Do they wholeheartedly support building Northern Norway, as you can get an impression from Thorheim’s chronicle? Unfortunately, the answer is no. The measures are constantly presented by Conservative people, including leader Erna Solberg, as unnecessary waste. The Conservative Party’s Nikolai Astrup basically summed up the Conservative Party’s position well, in connection with the measures for Northern Norway in the state budget: “Free kindergarten in Troms and Finnmark. Certainly a great initiative, but the question is: Is this the timing? In order to then provide free kindergarten to the area that has had the lowest electricity prices anywhere in the world in recent months.” It shows that Thorheim says one thing, while Høyre does something else. It is not to be nice that we have to build Northern Norway. We have to do it because the nation of Norway needs people to live and live in the areas facing Russia. And because there are enormous opportunities for value creation and jobs that benefit the entire nation. This is the time to build Northern Norway. It is nation-building – not useless district politics as right-wing people portray it. We will leave behind a safer Northern Norway, where we have strong local communities with interesting jobs and where young people want to live, live and work. Read Bård Ludvig Thorheim’s chronicle:
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Now we are building Northern Norway – Ytring
