The Sell-off Begins

• Bunji
• 13 years ago
• Categories: Economy, john key, privatisation
• Tags: power companies, solid energy, state of the nation

So John Key’s great bit of policy for the election is to sell off the family jewels.  Generations of New Zealanders have built up these assets, and now, like in the 90s, National intend to flick them off to foreign investors, and drain the country’s wealth.

He says that New Zealand investors will be at the front of the queue and that it will diversify New Zealanders investment portfolios.

In reality, the problem with New Zealanders not having savings means that we mostly don’t have investment portfolios, and apart from a rich few who pick up a small section, the assets will be bought by people from those countries which do have good savings records.  Contact is already majority Australian-owned; expect the other energy companies to go the same way, as our banks did.

So instead of more than $700 million profits being used to subsidise our hospitals, schools and police, it will be going into Australian businessmen’s pockets.

John, if you want to encourage savings you need to allow ordinary New Zealanders to have some money to invest – by creating high-paying jobs instead of unemployment; by investing in our country and its future rather than asset-stripping.