Goldsmith Paul: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGoldsmith Paul: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 24 October 2013. Volume:694;Page:14266. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]3.PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to theMinister of Finance: What recent progress has the Government made in its share offer programme—and particularly in generating money for investing in new public assets without having to borrow from overseas lenders?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Associate Minister of Finance): on behalf of theMinister of Finance: I thank the member for that question. The Government is making very good progress with its share offer programme which we of course put to voters at the last election. Last night we confirmed the sale of 49 percent of Meridian Energy which will raise around $1.9 billion in two instalments. Based on the $1.50 a share issue price this is the largest retail investment in an initial public offering in New Zealand’s history. With 86.5 percent of the shares owned by New Zealanders when Meridian lists on the New Zealand Exchange next Tuesday this comfortably meets the Government’s goal of achieving 85 percent to 90 percent New Zealand ownership.Paul Goldsmith: How many New Zealanders have invested in Meridian Energy and how does this compare with the share registers of other New Zealand listed companies?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Some 62000 investors will receive shares in Meridian Energy. This means Meridian will have the third largest share register on the NZX behind Mighty River Power and Contact Energy. Overall 95 percent of retail investor applications for Meridian shares will receive at least 90 percent of the shares they have applied for. Meridian attracted a different mix of investors than we saw with Mighty River Power earlier this year. Demand was strong and broad-based but overall we saw retail investors bidding for slightly larger parcels of shares. Having said that around half of all Meridian investors applied for 5000 shares or fewer so there was strong demand from smaller investors.Paul Goldsmith: On behalf of taxpayers how will the Government use the $1.9 billion in proceeds from the Meridian Energy share offer?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The approximately $1.9 billion raised from Meridian Energy’s two instalment payments will be allocated to the Future Investment Fund. On behalf of all New Zealanders that money will be invested in the Government’s public infrastructure programme which in turn supports thousands of jobs across New Zealand. Combined with the $1.7 billion in proceeds from the Mighty River Power offer earlier this year there will now be almost $3.6 billion over the two floats that the Government does not have to borrow to reinvest in new priority public assets. These include modern schools new hospitals irrigation projects supporting KiwiRail and helping to rebuild Christchurch. We can do all of those things without having to borrow this money from overseas lenders. And the question is: what would the Opposition do?Hon Annette King: You borrow from overseas investors every week. You borrow all the time.Grant Robertson: You’ve borrowed more money than anybody else.Paul Goldsmith: What alternative approaches to the share offer programme are available?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: There are three main alternatives. One would of course be to not invest in new schools hospitals or ultra-fast broadband. I doubt that anybody is suggesting that. Another option would be to borrow the billions of dollars from overseas lenders to invest in these new public assets. Some in this House appear to favour that borrowing option including the Hon Annette King—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon STEVEN JOYCE: —and Grant Robertson. A third option is promising to buy back the minority shareholdings in these energy companies and borrowing billions of dollars from overseas banks to pay for them. But nobody in this House is proposing to do that so I can assume only that the opponents of this share programme do not have the courage of their convictions but I have to say—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That answer will not help the order of this House.Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. As recently as the last day or so someone else who has used that phrase has been challenged to withdraw and apologise for it. Mr Joyce made a direct link between members in this House and a lack of courage. That is out of order and he should have to withdraw and apologise.Mr SPEAKER: If the member has taken offence that is a—Grant Robertson: Yes.Mr SPEAKER: The member has taken offence and on that basis I ask the Minister to stand withdraw and apologise to Mr Robertson.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I withdraw and apologise to Mr Robertson.Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I also took offence.Mr SPEAKER: Well it is—[Interruption] Order! That is not strictly a point of order. The offence has been apologised for. Any member who was so—[Interruption] Order! Any member who was so offended by the remark can now accept the apology that has been given.Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The apology was a qualified one to only Mr Robertson and not to the House. It pays to listen.Mr SPEAKER: The member can stand and withdraw the last part of that remark.Hon Trevor Mallard: I withdraw—to you Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: Thank you. Now on the basis that Mr Mallard—[Interruption] Order! On the basis that—[Interruption] Order! On the basis that potentially there were other members who were offended by the Minister’s remark I am now going to ask him to stand withdraw and apologise without addressing the offence to anybody.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Sorry is that to Mr Mallard or to—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Would the Minister just stand withdraw and apologise for the remark he made in an earlier answer.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I withdraw and apologise.