Sage Eugenie: State-Owned Enterprises Amendment Bill Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sage Eugenie: State-Owned Enterprises Amendment Bill Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Sitting date: 26 June 2012. Volume:681;Page:3305. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
EUGENIE SAGE (Green) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Speaker. If New Zealanders thought it was such a good idea that they should have to buy assets that they already own and pay twice for them first through their their parents’ and their grandparents’ taxes for the infrastructure that the State-owned enterprises have built up—the dams the hydro generation capacity—and then through paying to get shares in the assets that the Government is now selling we would not need a massive public relations and advertising campaign to try to convince the public that it makes any kind of economic sense. 
Government members are scared. They are scared of what is happening in Europe. They are scared that in the middle of the global recession they will get so little from the sell-down of our energy companies that they will have created an even worse economic mess. They are scared that they will not be able to spend up large and underwrite irrigation schemes that they have been promising agribusiness and the construction industry. But most of all they are scared that New Zealanders will tire of their stunted economic thinking. 
They are scared because most New Zealanders oppose asset sales. Most New Zealanders know that it does not make sense to sell these strategically important and highly profitable assets. That is why tens of thousands of New Zealanders are signing the petition to get a referendum on these asset sales and that is why the Government is spending $120 million some of which is going to organisations and companies like Clemenger BBDO and SenateSHJ to run a public relations and spin campaign to try to persuade Kiwis that it is a good idea. 
The expertise in our State-owned energy companies could be the cornerstone of a cleaner smarter and more robust economy. It could help New Zealand lead rather than lag in the race for green growth. As the recent Pure Advantage report noted many OECD countries are demonstrating the link between green growth and strong economic performance. To quote the report: “Countries all over the world are investing in green development to help their economies’ transition to a more robust sustainable and economically benign platform.” But not in New Zealand. No under this Government we lag behind both in our environmental indicators and in the Government’s seeking of economic nirvana through dinosaur thinking of the last century on intensive resource exploitation. We are seeing that this week with the aerial surveys over the South West New Zealand World Heritage Area to find mineral resources.  
We have the resources in Aotearoa and we have the expertise and the experience in producing renewable power and in managing grid systems that supply renewable energy. The Government is selling our best opportunity to become large-scale exporters of renewable energy technology and that is because under this legislation there will be no statement of intent provided to the companies by Ministers no principle of social responsibility and no ability for Government Ministers to influence and direct the companies towards cleaner energy technologies and to have an operating strategy that benefits New Zealand’s overall energy strategy and mix. 
Worse still this legislation will make our debt problems worse. The Government says that it has an expectation that no more than 10 to 15 percent of the shares in these companies—that is 20 to 30 percent of the shares it wants to sell—will end up in foreign ownership but that is $2 billion more foreign ownership $2 billion more on our net international liabilities. We already send about $10 billion a year overseas in profits to the owners of our companies and to our foreign debtors. Selling our energy companies to foreign owners will only make that worse. Even on the very conservative numbers provided by the Government about $100 million a year in profits will flow offshore. That is $100 million a year that we will have to make up for by borrowing or selling more assets. 
There were amendments suggested in the Committee stage that would have put a fence round foreign owners and investors buying these assets. Those amendments were sensible but they were opposed. So there is nothing in this legislation that ensures that Kiwis get the major stake in these assets and that is because the Government knows that Kiwis cannot afford to pay again for what they already own and so it needs to sell to overseas buyers. If the Government and its support partners were serious about these asset sales being an opportunity for Kiwis to invest they would have supported those amendments. 
We oppose this legislation. Tens of thousands of New Zealanders oppose it and are standing up for Aotearoa and a better economic future.