Ryall Tony: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Ryall Tony: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 20 June 2012. Volume:681;Page:3151. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister for State Owned Enterprises) 
: 
 Thank you very much for the opportunity to take a call in support of our colleagues at I think a very important time for the world as they consider the very significant challenges arising from debt. What has to be remembered particularly about this debate and this reference to the Government’s mixed-ownership model is that it has to be seen within a wider context and a wider plan that the Government has in order to help control our nation’s debt and continue to invest and grow our economy. These decisions are being made at very very difficult times internationally. In just the last few hours it has been reported that both Spain and Italy are likely to be bailed out to the tune of £600 billion from the European monetary resources in order to support them. Ireland is expecting another bailout from the fund and it has been reported in just the last 24 hours that the Russian Government itself—the Russian Government—is putting aside US$40 billion as the euro crisis buffer in that area. So things are very very unstable in many parts of the world. In Germany 40 economists have told Chancellor Merkel that she should actually break away and establish a “northern euro”. 
This just tells you about this uncertainty that is happening internationally and the consequence of not controlling debt which is the reason why the Government wants to do that. But what opportunities are there for New Zealand with that uncertainty in Europe? Well it certainly means that a number of investors here at home will be more interested in investing in New Zealand I am sure because of that uncertainty. And what we know is that in times of uncertainty people look towards infrastructural assets for the assurance that they provide. While we do have this very uncertain international situation New Zealand’s proximity to Australia and China is good for our future prospects and also it should indicate a changing environment for investment prospects here in New Zealand as well. 
I think it is pretty clear that the Government is making a lot of progress in explaining to the public of New Zealand what the mixed-ownership model is about. It is about controlling our debt and making sure that we are in a position where we can invest into the future. It works pretty straightforwardly. We hope to release about $5 billion to $7 billion over a 3 to 5-year period from the mixed-ownership model. That money will go into the Future Investment Fund which will be available for investment in important infrastructural assets like schools roads and hospitals. 
The Government has been upfront from January 2011 that this was our proposal. We have had a piece of legislation that has gone through a select committee process. There has been no urgency to date involved in this process. We have been quite clear. But that stands in absolute contrast to the lies and deceit of the 1987 general election where the Labour Party did not campaign on the fact that it would go on to sell $10 billion of public assets to the highest bidder. There was no talk about everyday New Zealanders taking a stake. There was no talk publicly about selling it off to foreigners and Fay Richwhite—none of that in the 1987 general election. It was kept quiet. Mr Goff never told anybody. Mr Mallard never told anybody. Annette King never told anybody. Mike Moore never told anybody. No one in the Labour Party told anyone that it was going to sell these public assets which is why there is so much suspicion about this because people think that it is going to be what it was like when Labour sold $10 billion worth of assets to the highest-bidding foreign interest it could possibly get. 
Our Government on the other hand has been completely open and transparent—open and transparent. We have been upfront since January 2011 about our plan to do this as part of a very sensible strategy to control debt and get our country back into the black because if you are heading from where we are now which is about $52 billion or $53 billion a year in debt to $72 billion a year in debt there is an imperative that we take action. This is part of a very sensible prudent response by our Prime Minister to make sure that our country can face the difficult times ahead as we work together to deal with the debt. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.