Woolerton R Doug: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Woolerton R Doug: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:646;Page:14998] 
R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) 
: 
 In speaking to the financial review debate I would like to say that I rise not to berate the Government but rather to appeal to the Government. I think it is reasonably well known now and if it is not it soon will be that we will— 
Phil Heatley 
: Are you appealing for a job? Do you want a bauble? 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: OK. If we want to be technically correct I appeal to my colleagues in the Labour-led Government— 
Phil Heatley 
: For a job. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: No we have got jobs sorted out. We are OK. I will be here for far longer than that member is likely to be happy with I can assure him of that. 
I think it is well known that New Zealand First is opposed to asset sales and particularly the sale of strategic assets. Unfortunately we have the first situation with Auckland airport. When that company was listed on the stock exchange the shares were sold to mum and dad shareholders at our insistence. It appears now that the Canadian pension fund is going to get a big chunk of that airport. I say to people and I caution people from my own former industry of dairy farming that if that can happen to Auckland airport how would they ever imagine that they were going to hold the shares of Fonterra within New Zealand ownership let alone farmer ownership—if the Government were to put that great company on the stock market? The answer of course is that they could not. 
Now sadly we have the situation where the sale of Auckland airport to a large degree—40 percent I am told by Mr Carter and that is correct—will be in the hands of the veto held by the two Ministers in charge who I understand are the Hon David Parker and the Hon Clayton Cosgrove. We appeal to those Ministers because we do believe that we cannot have a period of continued prosperity while the major economy in the world namely America is going pear-shaped. It is a time for us to be careful. I am not saying we are going into a recession. I am not saying that anything is going to happen. I am saying that any prudent person would be careful. We in New Zealand First believe that we need the income streams from these companies such as Auckland airport to bolster our own economy not to bolster the Canadian economy and in particular the Canadian pension fund. 
That is one area where we appeal to the Minister to turn down the application. We know there will be a judicial review; we know about all of those things. But if the Government is serious about having strategic assets in New Zealand hands we plead with it to turn down the application for the Canadian pension fund to buy those shares. 
Likewise we have a situation with a little company down in South Canterbury called New Zealand Dairies Ltd where a Russian company called Nutritek put in money. That move was voted on by the board and sadly those who wanted to go to the bank were overruled and the majority of the board in that case wanted to go to the Russian company. 
Hon David Carter 
: The KGB took over. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: Those Russians could well have KGB members amongst them because if anyone knows anything about Russia at the moment then they would know they are all over the show. But we would just say that the farmers in that area are now relying on another two Ministers in one case the common Minister the Hon David Parker and the Hon Dr Michael Cullen to veto that application for Nutritek to take a controlling interest in New Zealand Dairies Ltd. If it were just that company then that would be bad enough. But I put to the Ministers this question and this is what they must answer. If they give permission for Nutritek to take a majority shareholding— 
Hon David Carter 
: Xenophobia is alive and well. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: —it is not xenophobic at all—in this company then how will they stop any other overseas investor buying and controlling other parts of our dairy industry? They cannot.