National to set up fund for asset sale proceeds

Election 2011: National to set up fund for proceeds from 'NZ$5-7 billion' partial privatisations of state-owned assets to invest in infrastructure

30th Oct 11, 1:46pm by Alex Tarrant

National will set up a specific fund for the expected NZ$5-7 billion in proceeds from the sell-downs of shares in four state-owned energy companies and Air New Zealand over the next three to five years, if it wins the November 26 election, Prime Minister John Key announced today.

The proceeds held in the Future Investment Fund would then be used to invest in infrastructure, with the first priority NZ$1 billion "into modernising and transforming New Zealand schools over the next five years," Key said.

The fund would be money earmarked in the government's coffers at the Reserve Bank for the purpose of investing in certain types of infrastructure, and not be set up like the government's ACC or Superannuation funds, Key and Finance Minister Bill English said at a press conference following the announcement.

That would mean it was conservatively invested in short-term Treasury bills, so the funds could be accessed when needed.

When asked, Key said it would be "correct" to assume the fund could effectively be used up over the next decade, seeing as it was not an investment fund like the ACC and Super Funds, which invest capital in various assets for profit and growth.

Key said the fund would run for at least five Budgets.

'For infrastructure'

Finance Minister Bill English said decisions on spending from the Fund would be made on a case-by-case basis by Ministers as part of the normal Budget process.

"A National-led Government is committed to investing in modern infrastructure that helps build a faster growing economy with more exports and more real jobs, while keeping our debt low," English said in a statement.

"That's precisely what our new extension of the mixed-ownership model is all about is all about. If re-elected, National will put the proceeds of mixed ownership - between NZ$5 and NZ$7 billion - into a new fund, called the Future Investment Fund," English said.

"Through the fund the public can be assured the proceeds of mixed ownership are not being lost. They will be used to buy new assets for New Zealanders, and to upgrade and modernise our existing assets, reducing the Government's borrowing from foreign lenders by NZ$5-NZ$7 billion," English said.

"Investing the mixed-ownership proceeds in this way will result in assets that are long-lived, are here in New Zealand and are owned by the Crown on behalf of all taxpayers," he said.

Here's Key announcing the fund at the National Party campaign launch:

(Updates with new video, comments from news conference, comments from Bill English)

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67 Comments

by Colin Riden | 30th Oct 11, 1:53pm 1319936013

What a stupid joke!

Maybe the focus groups are telling the party's campaign managers they don't believe Key's line on asset sales.

by Colin Riden | 30th Oct 11, 5:38pm 1319949483

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague.

Cicero 58 Before Christ

Sorry Andrewj, but your quote deserves to be at the top of the thread, and closer to the John Key video.

by Kunst | 30th Oct 11, 5:54pm 1319950495

Absolutely ! - tick again !

by Andrewj | 30th Oct 11, 6:17pm 1319951858

Colin, if you liked that, remember the rant from the Telegraph? well he's back

moraymint

7 hours ago

" ... the ebbs and flows of cash which, in turn, determines the fate of real businesses. It is at the sharp end of employment and livelihoods, dispossessed homes and broken families that the human impact of financial turbulence is most keenly felt ..."

Now, I state this not out of self pity or any demand for sympathy or support. I stand on my own.

However, I'm one of those real people, Liam, who is at the "sharp end". My business is in survival mode; has been for nearly 3 years. My business partner and I have not made any drawings for over a year. We've all but expended our bank's support. We've been pumping in equity from our savings. Without wishing to put too fine a point on it, we're courting ruin.

You ask us to "forgive [your] intemperate tone, but these are the dangers we face ...", ie severe social unrest which will, in my opinion, come from (apparently) nowhere all of a sudden some time within the next one to three years, at the most.

I'm also feeling intemperate, Liam, about the rank incompetence of Europe's and the UK's self-serving politico-bureaucratic elites. I'm not asking any of them to bail out my business, Liam, as if it were an insolvent bank that has been trading in fraudulent products for years on end; my business is my problem and I'll deal with it.

But I am sick to death - absolutely sick to death - of being lied to; of being taken for granted; of being treated like an idiot; of being expected to fund a corrupt and insolvent politico-banking mafia; of expecting my kids and their kids to fund a corrupt and and insolvent politico-banking mafia; of funding tens of thousands of arrogant, useless, overpaid UK government and EU apparatchiks; of seeing my once great and beloved nation being systematically trashed by unfettered immigration; of working my backside off, month in and month out, to fund some feckless, useless benefit claimant so that he can sit at home all day watching his plasma TV, drinking cans of Special Brew; of listening to politicians telling me how bravely our soldiers die to bring democracy to Arab nations who care f**k all for democracy (Sharia Law is the end game) whilst telling me that I can't vote on my country's continued ruination at the hands of an unelected communist mafia in some foreign place .. do you want me to go on, Liam? For go on, I could. All night.

We're in a mess. We're in the mother-of-all socio-economic messes, the characteristics of which have yet to fully manifest themselves (we're back to your latent "serious civil unrest"). And yet, when I turn on my radio or my TV, day after day after day, I have to listen to or watch some condescending, self-satisfied, pillock of a politician telling me to wind my neck in, to swallow the medicine, to love Europe, to trust in the political class and to realise that "we're all in this together ...".

Liam, I'm really looking forward to us moving to the "realms of unpaid state wages and pensions, transport chaos and closures of schools and hospitals – sparking the prospect of serious civil unrest ..." because I'm as clear as a bell about the state we're in.

I fear and regret that it will only be when we reach the scenario you describe that our totally inept political class - so completely detached from the reality of a life like mine and probably millions like me - will eventually wake up and smell the coffee. By then, of course, it will be too late - for them and us. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/liamhalligan/8857518/Why-the…

by Colin Riden | 30th Oct 11, 7:12pm 1319955163

Andrew, it would make a good start to articulating what the "Occupy XXXX" movements are about.

by skudiv | 31st Oct 11, 1:19pm 1320020379

That is excellent, as true today as the day it was written.

by Nicholas Arrand | 30th Oct 11, 1:58pm 1319936282

So: We get to buy what we already own; to put into a Government controlled fund; that will be used to buy things, that we will only find out about over the course of time? I thought... we were going to be paying down debt'? You know, that spending we have been doing over the last 40 years that needs to 'stopped' and our budgets, BALANCED ( love that word!).....

by Wolly | 30th Oct 11, 2:08pm 1319936886

Stay away from it NA....the game is rigged every which way...crappy dividends forever...bloated salaries for fatcats...cheap capital for the fund managers to cream it big time for as long as possible..any capital growth(unlikely)swallowed up by the release of new shares to be sold to more idiots.

Far better investment options to be had identifying the 'golden partners' set to score as prefered 'bidders' on the infrastructural splurge that amounts to a big dumb gamble.

by Nicholas Arrand | 30th Oct 11, 2:13pm 1319937199

I have to agree, Wolly. When British Gas and Thames Water went public, it was as easy money as early Telecom or Auckland Intl Airport. But this partial-privatisation programme has the stench of death about it.....

by Wolly | 30th Oct 11, 2:02pm 1319936523

Oh dear.. ho hum and the chance to pay down debt passes them by....fatheads...are they really so silly as to think the 'vested interests' will not scoop the lot.....or is this a Fund to provide fat salaried positions for flavour of the month flunkies!

by OMG | 30th Oct 11, 2:07pm 1319936820

Why the latest eurozone bail-out is destined to fail within weeks

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/liamhalligan/8857518/Why-the-latest-eurozone-bail-out-is-destined-to-fail-within-weeks.html

by Wolly | 30th Oct 11, 2:12pm 1319937160

Hmmmmm.......a devastating comment on the whole sorry pile of shite OMG. How's your shelter coming along?

by OMG | 30th Oct 11, 10:23pm 1319966595

Stuck it down oil wells in a private company, not able to give details but got some brilliant news a couple of days ago ;-}

by JB | 30th Oct 11, 3:27pm 1319941633

A way to fund the billions required to fix the massive leaky schools problem while calling it an "investment " - Yeh Right !

by Lucky Basket | 31st Oct 11, 1:03pm 1320019433

Mate you're on to it!

by Kate | 30th Oct 11, 3:41pm 1319942460

Absolutely strange.

Is this the "big announcement" that was being touted?

Sounds very suspicious to me - why establish a "fund" - it's absolute nonsense to merely "ring fence" the sale proceeds - there has to be another motive in behind... and I suspect they want to structure this so called "fund" such that they can further promote/exploit the public-private partnership model to provide for "investment/partial ownership" in this type of public goods asset class (e.g. schools, hospitals, roads) by the private sector.

by steven | 30th Oct 11, 10:41pm 1319967680

Its "leverage" so the financial ponzi schemes come to our public services......they have exhausted the places to make money so are looking for more......have a look at the "success" of the PPPs overseas.....they are a disaster.....most ppl who have done the experiment admit that and are turning away from them.....but here is JK with a.....uh......plan.

There is a lot of money out there looking to get turned into a real asset backed by a Govn monopoly to guarantee a payout.....here is yet another play......

I just wonder is smiling death knowingly selling us down the river, or is that politically blinkered that he cant see the woods for the trees, or he's that retarded that he thinks this pile of doo doo will work....

regards

by Willy Foo Foo | 30th Oct 11, 3:46pm 1319942760

National Party mantra for building a brighter future - "SELL IT & SPEND IT "

Whats next ? Sell off the motorways to private companies and pay tolls to use them.

Selling off the state assets makes no sense to me. It never has and probably never will.

It has historically been far too easy to spend money to win votes and let somebody else worry about the consequences of that spending decision a few years down the line.

We need to reduce the national debt and the deficit by good housekeeping and by tightening our belt, not by taking everything we’ve got to the Pawnbrokers or Cash Converters.

by Kunst | 30th Oct 11, 4:32pm 1319945526

PM dream on - my God the coming communist party of NZ - without Key of course !

What another megalomaniac speech by our PM - in 2011 when the world is struggling financially, economically, environmentally – on many fronts.

How stupid to build more infrastructure, when we already struggle to maintain/ repair them ? Taxpayer be aware of empty promises and an economy, which fails, bringing our society on the brink of bankruptcy.

E.g. who is going to pay the ever increasing wages in the public sector the private one ? – yeah - then have a look: http://www.emigratenz.org/Work.html PM dream on !

Hopefully that speech wasn’t held in front of a public audient, but the national conference, where everyone claps like in any political party too, what ever nonsense the speakers refer to.

by Kunst | 30th Oct 11, 4:39pm 1319945986

Common you young generation of New Zealand get up and stop that political bloated -megalomaniac nonsense coming ! Time for more NZWall Street occupy.

by Kunst | 30th Oct 11, 5:14pm 1319948061

I’m going mad ! (should be bold type)

Spendingspendingspending - debtdebtdebt to the bitter end !

..and considering everything, which happen around us in 2011 - how much more do we want and how much more can we pay for with 4.5 million people living the massive size of beautiful New Zealand ? Are we a stupid nation ?????????????

Bloody sack the Minister of tourism - at least ! (should be bold type)

by Colin Riden | 30th Oct 11, 4:55pm 1319946934

What another megalomaniac speech by our PM

Yes. If he could just stop lying would be an improvement. Even the party faithful weren't really buying the message. They clapped, but it sure wasn't spontaneous.

by JB | 30th Oct 11, 4:28pm 1319945280

Worst part of ths approach is that by restricting asset sales ( initially anyway ) to NZ'ers we are by definition not increasing national savings given we own the assets now.

I was under the impression - obviously false - this was an important JK objective.

Still with forecast current account deficits ~ 7 % under the good scenarios - looks like we'll have to let the bond market sort out this mess eventually.

Compound interest and rising interest rates will do the trick - but don't hold your breath - This will take a few more years of borrowing to fund consumption to push us over the cliff.

by Nicholas Arrand | 30th Oct 11, 8:10pm 1319958601

Easy answer: The public will...borrow the money... to buy the assets for sale! Put it on an upped credit card or a mortgage drawdown or on a commecial loan ~ backed by the shares themselves. It's a giant shell-game; give with one hand, take with the other....After all, there are capital gains to be made........and they aren't going to be taxed...are they!

by Alex Tarrant | 30th Oct 11, 4:50pm 1319946625

Updated with new video at top of Key and English at press conference afterward.

Also updated with comments from Key/English at the presser:

The 'fund' will be money earmarked in the govt's accounts for spending on infrastructure, and not like the ACC and Superannuation investment funds.

That means it'll prob be gone in 5-10 years.

by Willy Foo Foo | 30th Oct 11, 5:55pm 1319950553

When the cash for the sale of these assets is spent, what then?

The country will still have no money and its assets will then be in private hands. It's plainly obvious that the National Govt has only short-term foresight.

Their pitch to the people of NZ is that it will benefit them, when really it only benefits those who are already wealthy; those who will mediate, advise, broker and profit from the sales of the SOEs.

Apparently, the deficit is of no concern and the partial sale of assets is not intended to address this. There is no mention of getting us out of the debt crisis we are told that we are in.

by Andrewj | 30th Oct 11, 5:05pm 1319947548

"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot

survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague."

Cicero 58 Before Christ

by Christov | 31st Oct 11, 1:13pm 1320020036

Your seeing it A.J. .......good for you.

by steven | 31st Oct 11, 1:18pm 1320020329

How nice she can afford private education....Im not going to feel sorry for her when others have a hard time in decile 1 schools.

regards

by muzza | 30th Oct 11, 5:36pm 1319949410

This site is getting overtaken by anti-Key/National adherents, very little political balance, and quite devoid of what many ordinary NZ'ers think about things- guess the proof will be in the election result

by Kakapo | 30th Oct 11, 5:52pm 1319950349

Oh, don't be absurd, there's just as many anti-Labour, anti-Act, anti-Green, anti-Whoever mouth-foamers hanging around. It's heaving with partisan bullsheet from all directions, but your bias is showing.

by muzza | 30th Oct 11, 8:21pm 1319959264

Have only ever voted for National twice in my life, my 'bias' is simply the pointing out the anti-tone bias so prevalent on this site. But take the point that some are equally anti everyone, bit like the guy who said he was not racist because he hated all other races equally.

by Kakapo | 30th Oct 11, 8:56pm 1319961389

So if you don't vote blue, and are aware that there's no predominance of anti-Nat, but negative partisan material from all over the political spectrum, just what the hell are you whining about?

by Malarkey | 31st Oct 11, 1:47pm 1320022042

"Have only ever voted for National twice in my life..."

So you'll be 25 next year?

by Malarkey | 31st Oct 11, 1:48pm 1320022117

"Oh, don't be absurd, there's just as many anti-Labour, anti-Act, anti-Green, anti-Whoever mouth-foamers hanging around."

No, that's just Wolly.

by Kunst | 30th Oct 11, 5:51pm 1319950264

No muzza – this isn’t about anti Key/ National this is about politicians, who lost the plot not taking international circumstances into consideration enough.

Negative events accumulating and accelerating on many fronts are staggering and a real worry. Most citizens of this country have to make sacrifices, learn and adopt to the situation – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQqDS9wGsxQ - obviously not the government ?

by Andrewj | 30th Oct 11, 5:54pm 1319950486

Im a national party member, well I was, the membership form is sitting on my desk as we speak. Ive been actively involved for years.

by Colin Riden | 30th Oct 11, 7:16pm 1319955360

I disagree. What has changed is that many of the people who comment on this site have lost tolerance with politicians that are idiots and/or liars. Several of us include both Labour and National party prime ministers within that definition. A conclusion that I think an increasing - but possibly not yet large - number of ordinary NZers are also coming to.

The proof may not be at this election, but after it, and at the election to follow which could be earlier than we expect.

by steven | 31st Oct 11, 1:25pm 1320020707

Totally agree with all your points.

Im stuck here wondering which set of clueless baffons to vote for so leaving them aside Im torn between Conservatives and Greens.....if we had a true Blue/Green party I'd be somewhat happy.

regards

by Anarkist | 31st Oct 11, 1:47pm 1320022073

Steven,

"if we had a true Blue/Green party I'd be somewhat happy"

We already do. Haven't you heard the likes of Kevin Hague, Matira Turei, and co, blabbing on about sustainable economic growth? What an oxymoron. How do they think that those high tech windfarms get fabricated, by wind or solar energy? lol. No it requires still forging using coal which they condemn the National government allowing mining companies to dig for in the National parks. Bunch of clowns.

by steven | 31st Oct 11, 2:03pm 1320023004

Well to start with being a Green party member Im not happy with the rather hard left wing rhetoric I hear from the "Greens". We breed like rabbits (especially the poor) but no one (let alone the Green party) wants to address that as the biggest problem.

There is no "sustainable economic growth" (url for the Greens quote pls) after peak oi.

.....there wasnt really any before it either....it was never really sustainable, just a blip. The problem is, if you are well read on the subject is energy return on energy invested. So for every 1 unit we put in for fossil fuels we get about 30 back.....Wind and tide and hydro is about 15 to 1.....the min possible for our society is 10 or maybe 8 to 1. So you are basically wrong on that number, I suspect whether thats achievable in practice is yes I agree a huge issue, i think it probably is.....for NZ.

Beyond taht right now we use 57TW of energy anually...I think the max possible by wind is 1TW.....wind is not the answer, globally....in NZ yes its significant. So just where is the energy to come from....coal is limited.....the high interest on pike river is interesting....all the way from China no less and its not a big coal field....ho hum.....asset lock up in progress.

"Bunch of clowns" no worse than any one else in Parliment in fact better...and at least they are not blindly stupid on peak oil....

regards

by Christov | 31st Oct 11, 1:32pm 1320021128

I think thats a fair summation ColinR.....yes well said...!

The machine has a face.......the agenda, the expression it wears.

by Gibber | 30th Oct 11, 9:18pm 1319962703

I despair of the quality of politicians in general in New Zealand.

Key and National are, in my opinion, Mediocre at best. Unfortunately, all the rest are crap.

by Kakapo | 30th Oct 11, 9:41pm 1319964062

Who but a delusional narcissist power-freak would want the job?

People may deride the Sir Humphreys, but at least they've generally got some expertise and a thought in their head beyond the next election.

Back in my public service days a visit from the minister was regarded much like a colleague bringing in a child for the day in the school holidays. Stick them in a corner with some colouring-in or a very simple job to do so they can feel a sense of accomplishment while being kept out of everybody's way.

by Andrewj | 30th Oct 11, 9:55pm 1319964959

Where is the peace dividend that was supposed to come after the end of the Cold War? Where are the fruits of the amazing gains in efficiency that technology has afforded? It has been eaten by the bureaucracy that manages our every move on this earth. The voracious and insatiable monster here is called the Federal Code that calls on thousands of agencies to exercise the police power to prevent us from living free lives.

It is as Bastiat said: the real cost of the state is the prosperity we do not see, the jobs that don't exist, the technologies to which we do not have access, the businesses that do not come into existence, and the bright future that is stolen from us. The state has looted us just as surely as a robber who enters our home at night and steals all that we love.

- William "Bill" Bonner

by steven | 31st Oct 11, 1:20pm 1320020451

Absolute rubbish and an un-justified claim on the result. This site has very few left wingers (thank god) to balance the right wingers....

regards

by Rudderless | 30th Oct 11, 5:39pm 1319949559

Read this three times

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-mac…

Having read the above 15 times - Google - 'Goldman Sachs NZ asset sales'. Gareth has already covered this many months ago.

Make your own conclusions

by ngakonui gold | 30th Oct 11, 6:12pm 1319951529

why worry about selling assets.sell everything and when the shite hits the fan we can nationalize everything.in a funny way thats what the looney left want.

by Nicholas Arrand | 30th Oct 11, 7:06pm 1319954816

" Kiwibank could be eligible for some of the estimated $7 billion the New Zealand government hopes to raise from its proposed partial sale of state-owned assets."

Recapitalise Kiwibank and wrap up all the dodgy stuff that left over from SCF and Leaky Homes lending etc into it, and give it an insurance arm, previously called AMI, and, voila!; all problems solved.......

by KW John | 30th Oct 11, 7:28pm 1319956102

Mr English did not look very 'comfortable' in the video... felt a bit sorry for him...

by Alex Tarrant | 31st Oct 11, 9:41am 1320007293

KWJ, yes, that was my impression right through the press conference - he seemed a bit quiet and was looking down at the table for a lot of it.

Might be he was tired after an all-nighter getting things right for the conference, but I don't think that's the most likely answer.

by Colin Riden | 31st Oct 11, 10:13am 1320009220

You can hardly expect English to be enthusiastic about asset sales when he knows that they are a dumb idea, nor keen to try and explain a fund to dress those same dumb sales up as being a benefit to the public when he knows they are nothing of the sort.

It shows.

by steven | 31st Oct 11, 1:31pm 1320021079

Dunno...from what Ive seen of BE assets sales etc seem his cup of tea?.......watching the global meltdown continue on the other hand knowing he can see more than I can and must realise this is probably going to blow should be worrying him greatly....When it blows is his political career finished? suspect thats quite probable.

regards

by Malarkey | 31st Oct 11, 1:59pm 1320022742

English is still a farmer at heart. Even his rabid rightie tendencies don't stretch to selling assets for a quick buck and paying forever as a result.

Otoh, John Key is nothing but a quick buck merchant, and asset sales have always been one of his principal goals. Always.

by KW John | 31st Oct 11, 11:35am 1320014134

Thanks Alex. Was aware that my comment could be regarded as 'partisan spruiking'.

I couldn't judge what was wrong, but I think Colin(below) may be right ... at least it would explain why 'explanations' of the SOE sell-off have not been forthcoming, convincing.

On the other hand, I've just listened to Mr Cunliffe on RNZ, (vs. Mr English). Hoped Ryan would smack his legs and tell him to wait his turn.....

by Kunst | 30th Oct 11, 11:51pm 1319971871

PM – don't show us big, megalomaniac words and worthless promises in front of your own crowd - all clapping yes American style.

Isn’t that picture showing the real New Zealand ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRKHwYhgzrw&feature=related

To adapt to the current and upcoming worldwide crises - what our society needs to become resilient in transition times and uncertainty – public forums involving the NZmedia to establish together, as a small, remote nation of 4.5 millions, but with big ideas - who we are and where we want to go.

by Boatman | 31st Oct 11, 9:32am 1320006775

Labour are really fudging the issue . Had Labour not signed the Bank deposit Gaurantee on terms they did not undersand , we would not be facing the debt mountain we are currently facing .

National need to seriuosly get on the front foot over this issue and clarify the mechanica of the partial privatisation of SOE's .

There is nothing wrong with listing our State assets on the NZX and retaing a majority interest .

by Trolleyboy | 31st Oct 11, 10:16am 1320009397

What a strange piece of spin. Didn't national extend the guarantee scheme? Are you saying they didn't understand it either?

How much has the scheme cost, in comparison to total debt?

by amalgam | 31st Oct 11, 10:17am 1320009445

1. Sell state assets cheaply to cronies in exchange for juicy kickbacks and guaranteed lucrative BoD positions.

2. Allow cronies to sell former state assets at massive profits (probably to Chinese companies) in exchange for more juicy kickbacks and guaranteed lucrative BoD positions.

3. Sip champagne while reclining on your private beach (probably) somewhere in the Carribbean, while on your annual 15 minute BoD-required conference call.

by Malarkey | 31st Oct 11, 11:04am 1320012299

Maybe it should be a condition and requirement of any sales of State Assets that NOBODY now in parliament, or any of their close associates, be permitted to accept any position of any kind (including advisor, consultant, liaison, etc) with or at the sold State Assets and the new owners, either now or in the future. Nor should they be permitted to receive ANY form of compensation or remuneration, nor gifts or other "expressions of gratitude", etc, as a result of the sales.

Nah, who am I kidding...

by amalgam | 5th Nov 11, 11:11am 1320444674

Since the whole point of doing these destructive things is so that the people doing them can profit at the expense of their fellow citizens (whom they think of as their serfs), there is no chance at all of such conditions being applied.

by JT | 31st Oct 11, 12:49pm 1320018545

Sadly National wants to sell income producing assets to buy non income producing 'assets.'

by Christov | 31st Oct 11, 1:24pm 1320020643

I think the plan is for infrastructure alright....the type that prop up mine entrances....set yourselves for bloody big holes all over the show....white elephants abound.

We're going for gold here ...! tell em John Boy ........

by Christov | 31st Oct 11, 2:19pm 1320023993

Bingo...! Texas Tea...oil spill...? what bloody spill...?...here's a sniff of what the lads are up to..

http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/SC/MakeSub/a/f/2/00CLOOCSCMakeSub_Dissolution1-Call-for-submissions-and-the-dissolution.htm

you will note the EEZ is back to the table....... The fat man manging to keep it on the down low since the little dust up with the conserv's back in Febuary

then check out this and some back publications from this little crowd.......

http://www.straterra.co.nz/Policy+and+legislation

Get a whiff o this newshound...!

Straterra.....hmmmm got a nice ring that, but I think I''ve heard it before somehow...

by Bernard Hickey | 31st Oct 11, 3:38pm 1320028690

FYI here's release from Green Party on National's fund and the issue of asset sales:

The Green Party is questioning the National Party’s decision to fund new infrastructure by selling state-owned assets (SOEs) that have returned, on average, 17.6 percent per annum over the last five years.

“National have come up with the most expensive way ever devised to pay for new infrastructure, selling assets earning 18–22% per annum instead of raising debt that would cost 4–6% per annum,” Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today.

Total shareholder returns for SOEs for the financial years 2006 – 2010 were 17.6 percent. ‘Total shareholder return’ measures performance from an investor perspective, combining the return from dividends with the growth in the value of the company. If you remove the impacts of the global financial crisis from the results, the average total shareholder return from SOEs is 21.5 percent

“Adding to Government borrowing at a cost of four-to-five percent per annum suddenly becomes a more attractive way to fund new infrastructure compared with National’s plan,” Dr Norman said.

“National is considering using the proceeds from asset sales to fund further roading infrastructure. Projects like the Puhoi to Wellsford highway and the Transmission Gully road project have benefit to cost ratios of less than one – in other words, they’re money losers.

“It’s not smart economics to sell cash cows, like our energy companies, and invest the one-off windfall in roads with negative returns.”

by Bernard Hickey | 31st Oct 11, 3:42pm 1320028959

And here's the ACT view on the fund:

“ACT New Zealand SOE Spokesman David Seymour today welcomed National’s initiative on the partial privatisation of SOEs as a sound plan which will see government move back towards its core role of infrastructure provision.

“If we want our economy to grow, we need to shift the government out of the commercial business sector. Compared to public ownership, private ownership produces more wealth per dollar invested,” Mr Seymour said.

“Privatisation is not only a way for the government to get cash but also to make the firms involved more productive. Last year, the Crown Ownership Monitoring Unit reported that the top seven SOEs – including Air New Zealand - had a dividend yield of just two per cent in comparison to 4.5 per cent for the top eight private companies. Even according to the Government’s own figures, government ownership is providing inferior returns.

“Privatisation has been practised in over 100 countries over the past thirty years. In that time, over two trillion dollars of assets have been transferred from public to private ownership worldwide and it has overwhelmingly resulted in an improvement in economic performance. “Getting the best out of our Government resources is a key policy for ACT and this is an example of the choice ACT presents voters for the next Parliament. The sale of assets to improve performance is recognised as a sensible and uncontroversial policy around the world. It frees up cash for better uses and would make the New Zealand economy more productive. ACT is the only coalition partner willing to work with National to turn this policy into a reality,” Mr Seymour said.

by Billy | 1st Nov 11, 8:07am 1320088036

What is the alternative to National? Labour? I'm resigned to the fact that NZers are caught between a rock and a hard place.

It's not so much selling of assets to foreigners as the selling of assets. Who will be the people who end up owning most shares? Not themoms and pops for sure. Profit will be the objective.