Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, April 30th, 2012 - 46 comments
United Future are polling the public about their support for partial privatisation. Will Peter Dunne heed his own poll?
Written By: - Date published: 4:35 pm, November 12th, 2011 - 25 comments
Brent Sheather assesses the case for asset sales in today’s Herald. He cuts through the crap and concludes “selling the SOEs doesn’t look all that clever, particularly from the perspective of young people and those other sectors of society who won’t be able to participate in the offers in any material way. This is likely to be at least half the population.” He looks at who really benefits, and it’s the fortunate few once again.
Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, October 5th, 2011 - 18 comments
Will double dipping double downgrade Bill English have the guts to heed his own warning?
Written By: - Date published: 2:47 pm, September 13th, 2011 - 8 comments
A good piece in the Herald by Max Rashbrook on the high costs of PPPs (public private partnerships) with the new Wiri prison costing over $21m before a single sod is turned or brick laid because of the complex contract negotiatons which have to cover every possible continency for the next 30 years. Earlier this …
Written By: - Date published: 2:41 pm, May 28th, 2011 - 23 comments
No Right Turn on National’s spin about “Mum and Dad investors”.
Written By: - Date published: 1:08 pm, May 18th, 2011 - 89 comments
Labour have been running a competition to crowd source their billboard design. Here is the winner, which (see Red Alert) will be going up around Wellington shortly. It’s going to provoke some controversy.
Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, February 21st, 2011 - 97 comments
We know from history, and from our own recent experience, that tax cuts don’t cause growth. Privatisation and public service cuts don’t do us any good either. What does cause growth? Public spending. What’s more, public spending is much more efficient than the private sector too…
Written By: - Date published: 6:01 am, January 29th, 2011 - 65 comments
We could look at bailed-out TranzRail and Air NZ, with privatisation leading to risk-free pay-outs for the temporary owners of infrastructure that couldn’t be allowed to fail. Or Telecom that doesn’t look out for NZers interests, and needs us to pay for it to build us a fibre network. But let’s look at the “success” story of Contact, the closest privatisation to National’s new plans.
Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, January 27th, 2011 - 33 comments
John Key is busy raising the canard of our economy being as indebted as the PIIGS countries that are in trouble in Europe. He’s talking about net foreign debt, and he’s suggesting lowering government debt is the solution. But New Zealand’s debt problem is not a government debt problem, and with asset sales he has the wrong solution to the wrong problem.
Written By: - Date published: 3:07 pm, January 20th, 2011 - 14 comments
Government IT projects are easy to take aim at, but this isn’t a hit at their lack of thinking or actions on UFB.
This is about them privatising their entire computing systems, preferably without being noticed; paying the least they can to a corporation to take care of your most personal data.
Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, November 4th, 2010 - 24 comments
National are continuing their privatisation by stealth. Hospitals services and a new prison are the current targets. Tony Ryall, Judith Collins and Bill English are the ministers currently pushing their ideology in their respective areas.
Written By: - Date published: 4:20 pm, December 15th, 2009 - 29 comments
It’s interesting to look at the trend behind the headline 11 point poll lead Len Brown has opened up over John Banks as reported in today’s Herald. In April Brown was only rated as preferred mayor by 6% of Aucklanders verse 17% for Banks. A head-to-head poll in late July put him one point ahead …
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, November 11th, 2009 - 20 comments
Although the topic has had a turbulent and confused couple of weeks, it seems that National want to privatise Auckland’s water supply. Govt contradicts itself on water privatisation Press Release: Green Party 29 October 2009 Statements from the Government on the issue of water privatisation are confusing and contradictory and give no assurance to the …
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, October 6th, 2009 - 19 comments
There is a very revealing quote from John Banks in the weekend’s Dominion Post where he talks about his campaign strategy: Uptown, Auckland Mayor John Banks, a former police minister and radio talkback host, is doing his best to soften his public image. “If I wear my policy on my sleeve, I won’t get elected. …
Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, May 18th, 2009 - 25 comments
The tactics used by Rodney Hide to ram through the Auckland SuperCity legislation without reference to a select committee or referendum should not surprise anyone. Rodney’s just a puppet – the master is the man who sits behind him in Parliament and beside him in the ACT caucus – the Honourable Sir Roger Douglas. Douglas …
Written By: - Date published: 2:39 pm, May 26th, 2008 - 13 comments
If you’re paying for your health care you’d expect good service wouldn’t you? The release of four health commissioner decisions over the weekend and covered by the Sunday Star Times, focused attention on private hospitals and the potential for catastrophic outcomes from relatively minor operations. According the report, Health Commissioner Ron Paterson says the cluster of cases …
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 …
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, April 15th, 2008 - 7 comments
Written By: - Date published: 1:48 pm, March 7th, 2008 - 32 comments
No surprise to see English fronting the Toll debate given Slippery John’s abysmal performance this week. Check out Bill in the background of this shot, are those daggers coming out his eyes? To his credit English gave much straighter answers about Toll than we would have got from Key and left little doubt about where …
Written By: - Date published: 2:09 pm, March 6th, 2008 - 42 comments
It is looking more likely that the Government will buy back New Zealand’s rolling rail stock from Australian-based Toll. Toll has been a classic asset-stripper: buy a key piece of infrastructure that should never have been sold, take as much profit as possible with minimal investment, and force the Government to buy the infrastructure back …
Written By: - Date published: 4:03 pm, March 4th, 2008 - 15 comments
Burqa Bob wants to buy heartland rugby. In other news, Bill English plans to sell our sunshine hours to a Finnish consortium and Key has mooted flogging off our children’s laughter to the highest bidder. [Update: Kiwiblogblog doesn't think it's so funny]
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