Cosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 09 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9119. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]3.Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour) to theMinister for State Owned Enterprises: Have all the risks for potential investors in Mighty River Power been fully identified in the offer document; if so does he expect the Crown will receive the best possible return for floating 49 percent of Mighty River Power?Hon TONY RYALL (Minister for State Owned Enterprises): Yes I am advised that the offer document does identify all material information and all risks material to Mighty River Power. Yes the Crown expects to get optimum value within our set of stated objectives including widespread New Zealand ownership. The float of Mighty River Power remains on track and is part of our wider economic plan to help control debt and to invest in important future infrastructure.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: Has any member of the Mighty River Power board at any point threatened to resign or advised that they would not be seeking reappointment should their remuneration not be increased given that he has stated that the significant increase in Mighty River Power directors’ fees was to be able to “retain” the services of the current directors?Hon TONY RYALL: No no director indicated that. But this Government is determined to make sure that we have a good quality board on Mighty River Power a board that will help lead the stewardship of this company which will effectively be the fourth or fifth-biggest company on the New Zealand Exchange.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: Does he agree with the Prime Minister that a 73 percent pay increase for the Mighty River Power directors is “realistic” and “sensible” given that directors are already paid an additional $1200 a day to prepare the company for sale; if so does he also agree with the Prime Minister that the Government cannot afford to increase the $14.50-an-hour pay rate for aged carers and the people who clean the Prime Minister’s office?Hon TONY RYALL: I always agree with the Prime Minister. The Mighty River Power directors have received and are going to receive an increase in their fee because of the substantial extra work that will be required in becoming directors of a publicly listed company. It certainly is very very comparable with the $115000 a year that the Contact Energy directors get and also the fee paid to the directors of TrustPower which is a much smaller company. The member may be wanting to talk down the prospects of this company. This Government does not want to.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: Why according to the Mighty River Power offer document will the joint lead managers—Goldman Sachs Macquarie and First NZ Capital—in addition to their base fees of $666666 be paid 0.4 percent commission to sell shares to New Zealand institutional investors yet—Hon Dr Nick Smith: 0.04?Hon Clayton Cosgrove: —0.4 percent—will be paid 0.8 percent double the amount in commission to sell shares to institutional investors outside New Zealand?Hon TONY RYALL: It is not unusual to have a fee structure that reflects the relative responsibilities of the people participating. But at the end of all of this process the Government has made it absolutely clear that 85 to 90 percent of this company will remain in New Zealand ownership. I know that that member has spent 18 months trying to talk down the prospects of—Hon Clayton Cosgrove: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. With respect I think the Minister in quite a detailed fashion answered the question then went on with other extraneous matters. I was just wondering whether you were going to stop him.Mr SPEAKER: No I assumed the member was interested in the answer but if the member is now absolutely satisfied with the answer we will move to the next supplementary question.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: I seek leave to table page 238 of the Mighty River Power offer document which verifies that these people get a greater commission to flog off the power shares overseas than they do to—Mr SPEAKER: I am sure that information is freely available on the website to anybody.