Posts Tagged ‘assets’

For whom the Toll bells

Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, May 5th, 2008 - 62 comments

The Government has bought back the rail stock and ferries from Toll for $655 million. The privatisation of these vital assets, which are also natural monopolies, by National was a disaster from Day 1. National flogged the railways and the ferries off dirt cheap to their mates who asset-stripped them by slashing maintenance and taking […]

Buy it back

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, April 28th, 2008 - 21 comments

I see that the Wellington lines network has been sold. Given the network has been in in the hands of foreign investors before I can’t see a sustainable argument for blocking the sale as the Auckland Airport bid was blocked. I do think the government should have bought it back. Electricity is too important to […]

Flip-flopping at warp speed

Written By: - Date published: 3:13 pm, April 17th, 2008 - 31 comments

On Monday, I wrote ‘Stay tuned for National’s next assets policy, due out sometime next week.’ It seems I miscalculated. Here’s what Key had to say on asset sales today on newstalkzb: ‘I’m going to go into an election with a group of policies and those policies we will implement or not implement as the […]

Running scared

Written By: - Date published: 4:18 pm, April 16th, 2008 - 32 comments

Why did National block Parliament from debating the Auckland Airport sale? Only last Friday, Key was ‘fuming‘ over the Government’s decision to prevent the sale, claiming it would be the end of foreign investment in New Zealand and cause a plague of boils to descend on our land. Yesterday, when New Zealand First offered them a […]

From slippery to send up

Written By: - Date published: 7:47 pm, April 15th, 2008 - 23 comments

 Mike Moreu provides insight into the art of turning news events into images  – using as one example his latest piece on asset sales: “National continues to play it safe as John Key announces that his party has ruled out state asset sales at least for the first term. This may appear to be a […]

National’s ‘whack-a-mole’ game

Written By: - Date published: 1:44 pm, April 14th, 2008 - 22 comments

   Trying to follow National policy is like playing that ‘whack-a-mole’ game. Up pops John Key or Bill English or a spokesperson, and they make a clear statement of policy but just as you turn your attention to it, that position disappears and they pop up somewhere else with a contradictory statement on the same policy. […]

National to sell TVNZ

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, April 14th, 2008 - 33 comments

Despite Key’s best efforts to inoculate against the “hidden agenda on asset sales” perception – he’s now peddling the story that National won’t start selling assets until 2011 – the truth seems to have slipped out. A reliable source close to the party has leaked National’s broadcasting policy for the upcoming election. According to the […]

To sell or not to sell

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 pm, April 12th, 2008 - 11 comments

At the Labour Party congress today, Helen Clark predicted that asset sales would be a key election issue and says the Government was right to veto the Auckland Airport share bid. “The National Party and ACT have made it plain where they stand – ‘sell it off’, they cry. This is a defining issue. In […]

Poor Poor John

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 pm, April 2nd, 2008 - 43 comments

Tracy Watkins tells us in today’s Dom-Post that John Key may have taken a beating in the stock market lately. He wouldn’t say how much he lost, but did admit, ‘I’m worth less than I was.’ And, I’ll bet some in his Caucus would agree. Anyway, Tracy tells us that Poor John came to New […]

Nationalise Air New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, March 18th, 2008 - 65 comments

The recent scandal over Air New Zealand underpaying its Chinese workers to the tune of four times less than their New Zealand counterparts comes as no surprise given the sick management culture at our national carrier, and highlights some serious contradictions in the airline’s ownership structure. Here we have a company that’s 80% owned by […]

National confirms Landcorp would be sold (?)

Written By: - Date published: 4:46 pm, March 12th, 2008 - 22 comments

We have an interesting mixed message (once again) from National on asset sales. David Carter is quoted in the NZ Farmers Weekly as saying: David Carter: “As Minister of Agriculture I would sell Landcorp. I don’t see taxpayer money best invested in farms” (10 March, 2008). However after the example was raised in Parliament today […]

Canadian Pension Fund’s asset-strip plan

Written By: - Date published: 1:15 pm, March 12th, 2008 - 36 comments

The Canadian Pension Fund is planning to asset-strip Auckland Airport. Once they have control they would demand ‘hyper-dividends’ three times the size of the Airports’ normal dividends. Where would the money have come from? From funds the airport would otherwise have spent on maintaining and upgrading its assets. The Fund would walk away with a […]

Key backs the underdog

Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, March 4th, 2008 - 25 comments

The latest Newsroom story [subscription only] about the Government’s move to protect Auckland International Airport from sale to the Canadian Pension Fund reports Labour is taking National to task on the issue of their support. Prime Minister Helen Clark is challenging National to state its position on strategic assets sales after the Government stepped in […]

Protecting New Zealand’s assets

Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, March 4th, 2008 - 90 comments

The government has made a series of moves to prevent strategic New Zealand assets being exploited by foreign companies. Last week tax law was changed to prevent the Canadian Pension Fund avoiding tax in its bid for Auckland Airport. Yesterday, the government changed the Overseas Investment Act to give Ministers veto power when strategic land […]

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