Greens skewer Key on asset-sale wastage

National has cost taxpayers over $440m so far with its asset sales policy, Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today.


The Crown Financial Statements to the end of November 2013, released today, show that the sale of Meridian and Air New Zealand added hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of the asset sales programme. When the cost of those sales is combined with the cost of the Mighty River Power sale and ancillary costs such as the Rio Tinto payout, the total cost of the asset sales now stands at $440m.

“John Key has mishandled the asset sales so badly that it has cost taxpayers nearly half a billion dollars,” said Dr Norman.

“National told us they would make hundreds of millions of dollars by selling the assets for more than their book value. Instead, they’ve lost over $200m by hocking the assets off cheaply.

“On top of that, there’s been the hand-out to Rio Tinto, Waitangi claim costs, and tens of millions of dollars to the brokers, ad-men, and lawyers.

“A decent government would be spending its time and money on creating well-paying, sustainable jobs for New Zealanders. National’s wasted its time and the public’s money on an asset sales agenda that New Zealanders didn’t want.

“New Zealanders voted by a margin of more than 2 to 1 against National’s asset sales in the referendum held in December. It’s time National listened and abandoned the sale of Genesis,” said Dr Norman.

Clutha/Southland says NO

Poor Bill. Despite being a National stronghold, his electorate voted decisively against asset sales - 61.2% of voters said, wrong, Bill, we didn't want you to flog our assets off.
That's gotta sting.
Bill'll have some line or other denying the obvious, but he and Key and the rest of the Nats have been told loud and clear. What that means for the coming election is the interesting thing. Bill, having read the writing on the wall, has abandoned the seat and will stand for the list only. Curious. Mind you, he's a Wellingtonian now, has been for years and he knows we Southlanders prefer our representatives to live locally.

Seller beware!

I met a man who told me he was running short of cash and so had decided to sell the keys to his house and car. He said he knew they wouldn't be worth much, being merely cheap metal, but he had to do something. He said he'd got the idea from the Prime Minister John Key, who was presently selling assets also, in much the same way.
I wondered if he'd thought it through.

The latest and most blatant disgrace

From Stuff:
 "Fresh from its court victory on asset sales, the Government is considering selling all three state-owned electricity companies next year.

Finance Minister Bill English linked the possibility of three sales to buoyant financial markets and the plan would also mean the most controversial sales were over before election year."

Are we all sleeping? Where's the reaction to this appalling ploy from English and the National Party ?

Rushing the sales, so they're 'over before election year'?

Hello?

Anyone out there?

Not at all!

Asset sales to pay down debt

Well, no, they won't despite the Governments insistence. Not a dollar from the sale of our assets will go where National has been promising it will - they simply aren't telling the truth. Tim Watkin @ Pundit explains - and it's not a difficult thing to do, why Key, English and especially Ryall, as seen on Q&A this morning, are bullshitting us (please excuse the farming language).

"At the heart of its argument is debt. As Steven Joyce said again in parliament this week, mixed ownership is "about controlling the nation's debt".
But now Ryall admits that the profits from Mighty River Power won't be used to pay down a single cent of debt. Nope, no debt will be paid off thanks to this sale (and presumably the others). The only way these sales tackle our public debt is that they save us from borrowing more money for schools, hospitals and KiwiRail."

" So the debt argument just doesn't stack up.
But it's worse than that. Not only do the sales not pay down any debt, the loss of dividends from these companies must ultimately mean more debt somewhere down the track.
Bernard Hickey pointed out to me this week that over the past ten years the companies primed for sale have delivered a return on capital of 16%. Government borrowing is currently near an all-time low, at around 3.5%. So we're sacrificing 16% to save us 3.5%? How does that make economic sense?"

The asset sales trade-off - a lose-lose.

Shameless Strippers

"61 politicians just conclusively proved they are crooks. Voting for the asset stripping bill."


Kerry Thomas

National pulls swifty on public - today's letter

In today's Southland Times Labour's Rino Tirikatene said,
"The backdown with the education policy shows you the power you have by mobilising and coming together for a common purpose to effect change."
Tirikatene's call to arms caused our resident Nat MP Eric Roy to have conniptions and splutter, "He's dreaming! We have a mandate! We Have a Mandate!!", or words to that effect.
Mr Tirikatene's statements complimented my letter that ran today, where I did my bit to alert Southlanders to the Government's manoeuvrings around asset sales, thus:

 "National has learned from its 'bigger classes are better for you' mistake. When ordinary New Zealanders rose up and said no to the Government's badly thought-out plan to crowd classrooms to save a few dollars, National saw that giving the public a chance to speak was dangerous. At the same time opposition to their selling our assets has grown rapidly as people realise how foolish that plan is. National is now acting urgently to try to seal the deal before New Zealanders, owners of the assets, can gather their thoughts and do what they did to the 'crowded classrooms' scheme; stop it in its tracks. The process of hearing submissions from the public has been cut short by several weeks. The 'sell assets' legislation is to be fast-tracked, heard under urgency. National is scrambling to prevent New Zealanders from having their say."

Stifling and disrespecting members of the public.

No one likes to be stifled and or disrespected. The teachers and parents, principals and students who found themselves subject to that sort of treatment turned around en masse to face their tormentor and faced them down over the education cuts, and succeeded in forcing a capitulation from the National Government. It's time for a second rout, this time over asset sales. Presently, a select committee is hearing submissions, the vast majority of which are highly critical, on the proposed energy asset sales but because of the behaviour of the predominantly National MP committee, those of other parties are describing the process as foul.
Green co-leader Russel Norman says that the process is being rushed in order to beat the upwelling of public opposition to the sales. His opinion is supported by other MPs on the committee. He said" the committee was likely to report back to Parliament on the Bill next week even through it didn't have to report back until July 16, he said.
"There has been virtually no consideration of the Bill, the evidence or the submissions. It's a sham. It's just being rammed through.
"It is totally anti-democratic. They are treating Parliament as a little room down the end of the hall which they use to make laws, just like Muldoon did."
Norman said the behaviour of National MPs on the committee was "down-right impolite" and embarrassing.
"They were doing their emails, they were playing games on their iPads, it was very disrespectful"

Shonkey, undemocratic behaviour from an arrogant National Government. The public was able to overturn the ill-conceived education cuts. Let's see if they can do the same for the very foolish asset sale plans.

A few paddocks short

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings should talk with Bill English and John Key about their plans to sell our energy assets, as soon as possible.
He has some great ideas.
He said recently,
"Our farmers know it does not make sense to reduce their financial exposure by selling off a few paddocks from their farm."

Asset sales - a game for fools

"The Green Party today released the detailed findings of a new report that shows the Government and the economy will be permanently worse off if asset sales go ahead."

Russel tripped-up and drove Bill English's rugged mug into the paddock with a question in the House earlier this week, around asset sales.


This report commissioned by the Greens shows how unsound National's asset plans are and how right those who oppose the sales, are. BERL chief economist Dr Ganesh Nana says,

"Even Bill English accepts that our high levels of indebtedness to overseas lenders is our number one economic vulnerability.

"His programme of asset sales would make that worse."

Dr Ganesh Nana's report concluded that, "It would be unwise from an economic perspective to embark on a policy that risked increasing external payment obligations."

Russel adds,


"The National Government has dug itself into a hole with poor economic management and poor choices; asset sales would only make it worse."

Garner pins Ryall on 'debt'

Nice work, Mr Garner, putting Roger Douglas' retrospective admission that the reason given for the asset sales that he was responsible for in the past, that they were done to relief the country's debt, was nothing more than a ploy, to the slippery Tony Ryall. Debt wasn't a valid reason, merely a way to befuddle the public in order that they would accept the sales. Ryall, speaking on The Nation, could do nothing but deny that his party is doing the same thing, using the same ploy with the public to cover for the asset sales they have 'on the block' now.
He speaks with a forked tongue, Ryall does.

Invercargill anti-asset sale march - images

Our captain

Signature gatherer

Fine young people

Our camera-shy minders, caught napping, yapping.

We photographed each other

More signature-collectors/past pupils

This gentleman walked a considerable distance to and from the march

Geoff was an impressive speaker who roused the crowd

The Dutch contingent

Despite the cold, the Greys turned out

Resting during the speechifying

Dave sang the stirring protest song

Henrietta (I think) fiddled

On top of the stake, a key.

Do you support the Government selling up to 49 per cent of Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Genesis Power, Solid Energy and Air New Zealand?

 Nope!


I don't.

The nub of the issue

"Is anyone else puzzled by poll results that show most New Zealanders don’t want the sale of state assets, yet most New Zealanders will vote for a National government?
It doesn’t add up. JOIN THE DOTS NEW ZEALANDERS. If we don’t want state assets sold, then don’t vote for the party that wants to sell state assets.
If New Zealanders are thinking we can have it both ways, that retaining a majority share of fifty one per cent in state assets means that we’re not really selling the assets, then think again. Minority share holders have rights, particularly those holding over twenty five percent. Their ownership cannot be prejudiced by the decisions of the majority share holders. RETAINING A FIFTY ONE PERCENT SHARE IN THE ASSET MEANS WE HAVE SOLD THE ASSET."

Denny at Look Up At The Sky, describes the  truly strange situation we find ourselves in right now. We don't want to sell, yet we seem to be going to vote to sell.

English primes Iwi for the Big Sale

Bill English in secret talks with Iwi over buying New Zealand's assets?
Haven't read anything about that in the Southland Times but the Member for Eketahuna North has picked up on Bill's manoeuvres and says:

"Why has Bill English been so bloody quiet about counselling the iwi on the economic opportunities open to them if they buy (or partly buy) these state assets?
If he was doing good things for the country, he would want the country to know about it, especially in an election year.
Whenever Ministers don’t want the country to know what they are up to, chances are you will find they have been up to something that will bruise their electoral support"

Read the full post here.

Hampden wolf scares National's lamb

How can a tiny South Island town frighten the wits out of the mighty National Party?
The good burghers of Hampden, north of Dunedin, south of Oamaru, have challenged someone from National, anyone from National, to a debate on asset sales. John Key hasn't the stomach for it, neither has the electorate's Nat MP Jacqui Dean, nor for that matter any brave National Party MP. They've all run for cover, fearing the persuasive power of the representatives of the wee seaside shire.
Talk about the mouse that roared! Talk about David and Goliath!
Run you Natty asset-sellers, run!
I do hope John Campbell takes this story up and waves it in front of the nation.
It's very funny and described in full here: (hat-tip Nick)

http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/opinion/169884/why-asset-sales-isnt-debatable

Goff says no sale

"State-owned power companies will be "lost forever" if they are sold to private buyers, Labour leader Phil Goff says.
Launching the party's "Say No to Asset Sales" campaign in Auckland last night, Mr Goff attacked National for the proposed part-sale of Mighty River Power, Meridian, Genesis and Solid Energy."

Labour openly opposing National's asset sale plans?

Good.