So much for the competitive market

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, July 23rd, 2015 - 18 comments
Categories: class war, housing, making shit up, Privatisation - Tags: , , , , ,

I love how right-wing ideology is just some thing that can be switched on and off at will. Consider this article:

All state house sales could go to a single buyer – Treasury

Charities wanting to take part in state house sales have been told, be prepared to buy big or don’t bother.
…
Treasury has revealed that all of the houses in each city – 370 in Invercargill and 1250 in Tauranga – could be sold to a single buyer.

We’ve posted on this previously, but there’s a particular point here that I want to look at further. Carrying on from the above:

“Our current thinking is that we will transact at scale, the upper end being the entire portfolios in each region and the lower end potentially being one or two hundred,” Treasury told potential buyers.

The Government would be prepared to have a single charity operating all of the social housing, as the scale may be a greater advantage than the lack of competition.

“It may not be feasible to have a traditional market with competition in each regional market due to the size of these markets,” Treasury said, saying that in Invercargill “it is possible that a transfer of the whole portfolio may bring benefits that outweigh the need for competition”.

An interesting acknowledgment that “scale may be a greater advantage than the lack of competition”. So much for the ideology of the competitive market. Gosh – if only there was a nationwide organisation that could own all the state houses and really get these advantages of scale working for all NZ. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

18 comments on “So much for the competitive market ”

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  1. Sabine 1
    23 July 2015 at 7:25 am

    clearly some charities are more equal then other charities.

  2. vto 2
    23 July 2015 at 7:31 am

    this is all so very predictable….

    it will get sold

    and then it will be bought back

    everyone will acknowledge Bill English to have been a dickcock over it but he wont care a toss while he sits in his rocking chair looking out over the rural southland hills and plains

    exactly like Michael Cullen and his recent admission over foreign ownership of our land

    no respect

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1
      23 July 2015 at 8:36 am

      “Bought back”.

      Yes, until the Left gives notice that any further vandalism will result in our property being returned to its rightful owners without compensation, the Right will continue its vandalism.

      There is no alternative.

  3. red-blooded 3
    23 July 2015 at 7:34 am

    Maybe private providers could revolutionise our state housing and bring the benefits of the market to work, just like they have for what used to be our state prisons…

  4. Don't worry. Be happy 4
    23 July 2015 at 8:50 am

    SIR Bill English will be gazing out over his estate not giving a damn about being thought a dickhead…..they all want the title and the privilige they imagine goes with it. Problem for them of course is that respect must be earned.

    • tricldrown 4.1
      24 July 2015 at 12:16 am

      Maybe we could all double dip and solve the housing crisis by getting the taxpayers ie govt to pay all our mortgages and use the money we were going to pay for a dairy farm conversion and live happily ever after .
      Wow but those poor workers and beneficiaries are called lazy bludgers is it because they don’t have any power voice or highly paid spin doctors to shift the blame ne ne nee na nee nee labours Phil Goff did it to.
      Something is rotten in the state of Denmark me thinks.

  5. Ed 5
    23 July 2015 at 9:31 am

    Surely that is not a problem for right-wing ideology – its just Treasury going as far as they are able to in saying that the whole policy is a crock of shit without appearing to criticise the National/ACT government.

    There has as yet been no explanation of any benefit to New Zealand from the sales from either the Government or Treasury. Certainly there are risks and costs involved for government, but they aren’t being talked about by those setting or implementing the policy either – or have I missed something?

  6. Save NZ 6
    23 July 2015 at 10:35 am

    +1

    Gosh – if only there was a nationwide organisation that could own all the state houses and really get these advantages of scale working for all NZ. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

    Gosh yes – if only we have a competent government to be able to run state houses – but no – they know they can’t do it.

    Hands up who is more component that the National Government?

    Yep, thats pretty much everyone, but hands up who has billions of dollars available to buy the state houses?

    Probably only a profiteering developer!

    The Opposition politicians and media should be having a field day!

    • Molly 6.1
      23 July 2015 at 11:56 am

      They are going to be looking at non-profits – someone working for one in Australia has told me their company has already been contacted by Nick Smith to visit NZ to tell them how it is done.

      A couple of points if this model is used:
      1. This does not address housing for all – renters are screened before homes are rented – the vulnerable, the low-income, the dysfunctional will not find a safe haven here.
      2. The financial model works in a rising capital gains market – when this bubble bursts – what happens? The social and rental housing components will be sold off to reduce liabilities and consolidate assets. Eventually resulting in the long term development of private housing on current state housing land.

      Those who don’t believe in state providing housing, have perfected the technique of selling it off by doing it incrementally – and murmuring soothing noises all the while…

      • Save NZ 6.1.1
        23 July 2015 at 12:09 pm

        Those who don’t believe in state providing housing, have perfected the technique of selling it off by doing it incrementally – and murmuring soothing noises all the while…

        +1

        Like Serco the only way to increase profitability in social systems when you already have economy of scale, is to reduce the quality of the offering. In prisons 1 guard per 50 prisoners or whatever it is, and in state houses, renting to people who can afford the rent (generally that means working people, or if on a benefit the accommodation supplement is therefore going to a private organisation), so not sure where all the people go who can’t afford the rents…. the streets and cars?

  7. Penny Bright 7
    23 July 2015 at 1:38 pm

    State housing is PUBLIC.

    Social housing is PRIVATE.

    There is NO electoral mandate for the privatisation of State housing into social housing – end of story.

    Yesterday, before the Auckland Council Unitary Plan Independent Hearing, the Tamaki Housing Group gave a BRILLIANT presentation on how their already ‘mixed’ community was being ripped apart through the Tamaki Transformation project.

    A really powerful You Tube clip – showed the night that Hone Harawira was arrested out in Glen Innes, how the community and supporters rallied against the removal of a State house, and how the Police were out in force to help protect ‘democracy for developers’, as this house was trucked away …..

    (I was there that night – it was RAW – as the memories flooded back.)

    There were also photos of a number of empty State houses – that once were the homes of families, in net-worked communities.

    Supporting Sue Henry and Yvonne Dainty (Tamaki Housing Group Spokespeople) was Vanessa – a Masters student from Auckland University – who had spent a year studying ‘social housing’, and how the purported outcomes for low income tenants did not match the reality – in this push for so-called ‘affordable housing’.

    Here’s an 8 minute clip of Vanessa’s presentation – based upon researched facts and evidence:

    https://www.facebook.com/allaboutAKL/videos/1097677906912631/

    ‘Tenants are being evicted from their communities all over New Zealand and only a limited amount of …

    I strongly recommend you have a look at it?

    Penny Bright

  8. Pat 8
    23 July 2015 at 3:26 pm

    well it appears it is no longer just the State houses we are flogging off…it would appear NZ Rail, NZ Post, RNZ andTVNZ are for the auctioneers hammer as well

    • Saarbo 8.1
      23 July 2015 at 9:55 pm

      It seems bizarre that English chose today to announce this, given the absolute catastrophic failure of Serco running of our prisons. Only the Nats can get away with doing this.

      • Smilin 8.1.1
        24 July 2015 at 12:51 am

        Why dont they just sell the whole govt lock stock and turn it over to the corporates then they wont have a conflict of interest to worry about only probleem is the whinging bastards will want a job in the new corporation so that they still have the power
        Nothing worse than a whining tory it just goes on and on and on
        Like they still don’t stop even after 2 terms in govt just listen to them any day in parliament

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