Scott Alastair: Keep Kiwibank Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeScott Alastair: Keep Kiwibank Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 14 October 2015. Volume:709;Page:7272. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ALASTAIR SCOTT (National—Wairarapa): Thank you for the opportunity to speak on this Keep Kiwibank Bill. My question is to Mr Cosgrove: why Kiwibank? Why just Kiwibank? Why not New Zealand Post and the whole business? Why have you picked on one piece of their business? Why have you restricted the board of directors of Kiwibank from conducting their business in the best interests of their shareholders? Why not the “Keep Landcorp Bill”? Why not the “Keep KiwiRail Bill”? Why not keep—[Interruption] Because KiwiRail is an important piece of New Zealand infrastructure Mr Cosgrove. I do not understand why you have picked on Kiwibank as a small piece of the New Zealand Post portfolio.This bill is part of an attitude that comes from Opposition members which says that they know best. They know how to run the business. As Mr Cosgrove is on the Finance and Expenditure Committee I am surprised that he put this bill up. He talks about understanding how governance works and talks about how the economy works. But then he puts this thing up which cuts across basic governance basic company law and basic property rights.He is telling people—being the board of New Zealand Post—what to do and how to do it. That is really the fundamental problem with this bill because it cuts across. It has not been well-thought-out. It cuts across and creates a whole lot of problems that I am sure Mr Cosgrove did not intend to create.Mr Bayly gave the example of New Zealand Post possibly needing some cash to support Kiwibank perhaps or perhaps to support the New Zealand postal delivery service. What are the directors supposed to do? Are they able to go and raise funds from offshore? Would that be allowed—to take on some offshore shareholders?This bill also sniffs of xenophobia because this also talks about the importance of having to have a bank owned by the Government. It is not necessary.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: How is that xenophobia?ALASTAIR SCOTT: Because Mr Cosgrove does not want anyone else to own Kiwibank other than New Zealand Post. That is a ridiculous situation to be in. There are lots of building societies out there. If you want to bank with a 100 percent locally owned building society bank what have you you are able to do that. But there is no reason to restrict the directors of New Zealand Post from conducting their business. The nanny State attitude coming from the Labour Party is alive and well. The Government Superannuation Fund is also something that Mr Cosgrove has wanted to interfere with and control and influence.As soon as we get politicians involved in businesses it begins a slippery slope of conflicts of interest. That is why I cannot support this bill because if it would enable Grant Robertson to decide what—is Grant Robertson going to use Kiwibank under his control to fund his housing projects in Auckland perhaps? This is the beginning of the end the beginning of a slippery slope of political interference in what should be independently run State-owned enterprises and that is why I do not support this bill.