privatisation

Categories under privatisation

Nats have already spent $26m on asset sales

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, February 17th, 2013 - 78 comments

The Greens have revealed that National has spent $26m on asset sales so far. They haven’t even sold anything yet! They haven’t even really begun the sales process! And they’ve wasted $26m of our money. The bill’s going to get a whole lot longer if the sales actually go ahead. There’s $106m budgeted for the sales and huge unbudgeted costs like the looters’ bonus

Building a movement: acting local, talking global

Written By: - Date published: 12:41 pm, January 29th, 2013 - 42 comments

The Greens, I’m in for the Future, is a promising initiative.  The Greens’ focus on Auckland transport will be a great start. To end the “neoliberal” dominance, it is necessary to apply pressure from below.  What can we learn from Canadian anti-“neoliberal” groups like Common Causes & Idle No More? [Updated]

State housing vs home ownership

Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, January 11th, 2013 - 160 comments

Labour’s 2012 Kiwibuild policy has focused on building homes for first time buyers.  Now we are told Labour’s 2011 policy pledging to increase the state housing stock still stands.  This raises many questions: including do-ability and the Labour leadership’s continuing (neoliberal) focus.

Will the real David Shearer please stand up?

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, December 28th, 2012 - 104 comments

Many want Shearer to break with neoliberalism, clearly state his politics and a new political direction.   He became leader with a compelling, but worryingly selective, back-story.  Party members want democratic participation. What of consensus-building, coercion, public services, social security, TPP, PPPs, state assets, sustainability?

TPP Negotiations Auckland next week

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 pm, November 30th, 2012 - 16 comments

The next round of secretive TPP negotiations is in Auckland next week, 3-12 December.  John Key will be lovin’ it!  A National Day of Action & world wide protest on Saturday 8 December, – it’s about NZ independence, economy and sovereignty. Update: protest events 3-8 Dec

Housing crisis day of action today

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, November 7th, 2012 - 17 comments

Today is Housing Crisis Day of Action with a march on parliament in Wellington (see Facebook page).  The government’s plan will benefit private developers and property speculators, and involves risks of “cutting red tape”.  Instead, they should be building more state houses. Updates: General Debate.   John Banks heckled by protesters.

Nats get desperate on asset sales

Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, October 24th, 2012 - 64 comments

The Nats have decided to try to lean on the judiciary to get asset sales handled the way they want. The Judge is ‘Red Ron’. The Court shouldn’t try to decide water rights at a level of general principle. The Maori Council mustn’t get legal aid. The case should be kicked straight up to the Supreme Court and settled before March. It’s not working. It’s not going to work. And the costs are mounting. Updated

Mighty River sale on hold

Written By: - Date published: 2:32 pm, October 23rd, 2012 - 28 comments

As expected, the High Court advised today that the government should hold off sale of Mighty River Power. The government is complying.

Children of Men: money or our lives

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, October 18th, 2012 - 28 comments

Paid Parental Leave, Charter schools, compulsory early childhood education for beneficiaries: for NAct it’s all about money, and they use ‘shonky’ figures to justify their ‘shonkey’ policies and vetos.  This is ostrich and patriarchal behaviour, ignoring the evidence of the wider benefits to communities and society of good quality child care, education and Paid Parental Leave.

“Privacy assured!” Politics, the police & surveillance

Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, October 16th, 2012 - 27 comments

Public trust in the police is at a new low. But what of the trust in our government?  How much collusion is there between the police, government, spy agencies and foreign governments? However, citizens are also using the technologies of the surveillance society to hold the government and state authorities to account.

Treasury’s spin fail on electricity numbers

Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, October 16th, 2012 - 2 comments

Treasury is trying to tell us that private power companies don’t charge more than SOEs to justify privatisation. Of course, a moment’s thought tells you that private owners, with higher costs of capital, need larger profits than public ones. And private owners always complain the SOEs don’t charge enough. Moreover, Treasury’s spin is a complete fail.

Affordable Housing: the way forward?

Written By: - Date published: 9:40 am, October 7th, 2012 - 29 comments

There is increasing concern about New Zealand’s housing situation, with an escalation in homelesssness, people living in totally unacceptable conditions,  and the lack of sufficient affordable housing stock.Update: Government close to unveiling plans for “cheap” housing on city fringe and ‘brownfield’ sites.

Unanimity

Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, September 19th, 2012 - 5 comments

Iwi want no part of sham talks

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, September 19th, 2012 - 16 comments


Only 12 people turned up to Key’s first sham talks with iwi. He might have gotten a better turnout if he had come with cupcakes or, you know, a genuine intention to negotiate in good faith.

Asset Sales, Water & Maori claims – an ‘elegant solution’

Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, September 18th, 2012 - 14 comments

It seems that whenever a matter arises that involves some claim of collective ownership or control by Maori, John Key comes up with what he describes as an ‘elegant solution’. If Key can come up with a string of such solutions I thought maybe I could give it a try. Therefore, this is my attempt at developing an ‘elegant solution’ to the matter of Maori claims to the ownership of water.

Sham consultation begins

Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, September 18th, 2012 - 13 comments

The Nats are beginning their sham consultation with a handful of tame ‘Iwi Leaders’ today. The hui will be by invitation and will not include the Maori Council, which iwi have appointed to lead for them on the water rights issue. Of course, National doesn’t want a real debate. It won’t genuinely discuss shares plus. This is a fake process. And it will all end up in court next year.

National’s priorities

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, September 8th, 2012 - 74 comments

Joycie says relax

Written By: - Date published: 9:52 am, September 6th, 2012 - 20 comments

Steven Joyce is meant to be the Jobs Czar. So, what’s his reaction to another hundred job losses yesterday at the Bluff smelter and the threat of the loss of 3,200 more? “If [Tiwai Pt closed], it would adjust different things like investment profiles and all sorts of things” but no worries because Rio Tinto and Meridian will “come to some arrangement”.

If they didn’t want to sell it, we would all own it

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, September 5th, 2012 - 85 comments

The National/Act government wants to sell essential public infrastructure assets that we all own, and that returns a public dividend, to a few of its mates. It’s private appropriation of public assets that causes the problem. Take that away and the problem becomes different, and resolution much easier.

What a shambles

Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, September 4th, 2012 - 37 comments

I think Mike’s hit it on the head. National’s asset sales policy is dead, it just doesn’t know it yet. Key’s punted for touch, pushed the hard calls out by six months (at a cost of another $10 million to us, thank you very much). But what’s really going to have changed when we get to March 2013? Key’s ruled out giving iwi what they want. So, any sales will be blocked by court injunctions.

Know when to run

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 pm, September 3rd, 2012 - 21 comments

Key has gone for a gamble again; but not the gamble some of the pundits were expecting. On the asset sales, he’s chosen flight over fight. But the real problem the asset sales face now isn’t Maori action, it’s the state of the economy.

Quarter of a million signatures to Keep Our Assets

Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, September 3rd, 2012 - 41 comments

The Keep Our Assets Coalition has now collected 250,000 signatures for the petition for a referendum on asset sales in just four months. You need to help with the big final push – the Spring Collection – to get the last 60,000 signatures and the 10% spares within the coming month.

Nats’ heartland says asset sales don’t add up

Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, September 3rd, 2012 - 82 comments

Last week, TVNZ covered a MYOB poll that showed 50% of small business owners disagreed with asset sales and 21% supported it. That’s 2.5 to 1 of ones of National’s core votes opposed to its flagship policy. They oppose asset sales for a simple reason: the numbers don’t add up. They wouldn’t sell high profit […]

Right votes for future asset sales

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, August 30th, 2012 - 16 comments

National, Banks, and Dunne voted to keep the door open for more asset sales yesterday. Clayton Cosgrove’s Bill would have required a super-majority in Parliament or a referendum to move more companies out of the SOE Act – a necessary step in the privatisation process. Dunne in particular has promised not to support further asset sales, yet given a chance to stop them, he refused.

Getting ahead of themselves?

Written By: - Date published: 7:37 am, August 29th, 2012 - 42 comments

If the Government still hasn’t decided whether to sell the assets, why is its stockbroker advertising them?

Could it be that the Nats’ consideration of the Tribunal’s findings is just a sham?

Just another sell-out

Written By: - Date published: 6:45 am, August 27th, 2012 - 130 comments

The Maori Party is meeting with National to discuss the Waitangi Tribunal’s report on water and asset sales today. Notice how no-one’s saying ‘will they walk if the Nats ignore the Tribunal and proceed to breach the Treaty?’ That’s what happens when you cry wolf then sell out time after time. Everyone knows Turia wants her comfy limo seat more than anything else.

Know when to fold ’em

Written By: - Date published: 1:34 pm, August 26th, 2012 - 26 comments

National’s asset sales programme is in crisis. Key has three options on asset sales – plow ahead, cut a deal with iwi, or call it quits. The smart thing to do, for the good of the country and for National’s own good, remains to drop the policy altogether. But they won’t. Instead, they’ll play the race card. But that old joker isn’t the trump it once was.

Just give it up

Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, August 23rd, 2012 - 50 comments

The Nats’ asset sales are beset at all sides. The companies aren’t ready for sale. Their future revenue is too uncertain to attract investors. The Government would end up with more debt not less. New, hidden, fiscal costs keep on coming to light. Few New Zealanders want to buy the shares. Over 200,000 have signed a petition against the sales.

The wheels coming off

Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, August 22nd, 2012 - 46 comments

The Nats are admitting the wheels are coming of their asset sales programme. Solid Energy’s revenue is in free-fall. So is AirNZ’s. Nobody can predict the impact the water rights issue will have on the power companies. And Meridian is playing chicken with its main customer, the country’s largest energy consumer.

Would you buy shares in…

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, August 18th, 2012 - 42 comments

Mighty River, when its water use rights are in doubt? Meridian, when its deal with its largest customer is in question? Solid Energy, when it is reviewing all its operations due to the high dollar? Genesis, when Meridian could flood the market with cheap power if its deal with Rio Tinto falls through, and a future government is likely to sharply increase the cost of its emissions from Huntly?

Sell assets to avoid debt; take on debt to build motorways – huh?

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, August 16th, 2012 - 76 comments

So, let me get this straight. Debt is bad. So bad, in fact, that the Government is willing to sell assets that produce higher returns than its cost of borrowing to free up money and avoid taking on more debt. But this same Government is now planning to borrow to fill a $5 billion hole in its transport budget caused by its unneeded motorway projects.

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