Cosgrove Clayton: State-Owned Enterprises and Crown Entities (Protecting New Zealand’s Strategic Assets) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Cosgrove Clayton: State-Owned Enterprises and Crown Entities (Protecting New Zealand’s Strategic Assets) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 29 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4886. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour) 
: 
 I move  
That the State-Owned Enterprises and Crown Entities (Protecting New Zealand’s Strategic Assets) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 I nominate that the Finance and Expenditure Committee consider the State-Owned Enterprises and Crown Entities (Protecting New Zealand’s Strategic Assets) Amendment Bill. This is a very straightforward piece of legislation. It is built on the back of 80-plus percent of New Zealanders who are opposed to their State-owned assets being sold in part or in whole offshore or being sold back to them and having to use their money for a second time to buy back what they already own. In essence the bill is about protecting the remaining strategic assets that we have on the schedule—that is New Zealand Post Kiwibank KiwiRail Radio New Zealand and others—for future generations. Any Government under this piece of legislation trying to sell these assets will need a 75 percent majority in Parliament or to win a referendum. That is a fair policy. The bill ensures that strategic asset sales will need to pass a higher hurdle than they have in recent times with this Government which has used every device in Parliament in the face of rising public angst and opposition to ram through asset sales legislation abusing the constitutionality of the select committee process and Parliament as a whole. 
This will be I have said publicly an acid test for the Government because if it is the Government’s intention not to proceed with other asset sales it will support this bill. This bill was not drawn from the ballot until after the asset sales legislation was rammed through by the Government and those assets that are now on the block of course are outside the schedule so this bill deals with those that are inside the schedule. But I have to say for the record that if it went to the select committee the Labour Opposition would not be opposed to amending this legislation to bring those assets that are now outside the schedule and threatened with sale back inside it but that is for another day. We would be very happy to accept and propose that amendment. This is about enshrining and protecting what we have left and if the Government’s intention is to sell only those assets that it took out of the schedule—i.e. Solid Energy Mighty River Power Genesis Meridian and Air New Zealand—then it would have no problem supporting this legislation. If it does not support this legislation if it does not accept this piece of legislation and back it we will know that despite the musings of Bill English back in 2008 and again in 2010 about for instance finding it acceptable to sell off KiwiRail it has an open intent to proceed beyond those assets that it has taken out of the schedule to other assets like for instance New Zealand Post KiwiRail Radio New Zealand Kiwibank and others. It is a very straightforward piece of legislation. 
It will also be interesting to see whether the Hon Peter Dunne votes for this legislation because of course he made a promise not to sell Kiwibank not to sell Radio New Zealand— 
Hon John Banks 
: It’s going nowhere. You’re wasting your time. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Well I know that it is a waste of time for Mr Banks of course because Mr Banks would sell his own grandmother if he had the chance. He would flog everything off. We know that. So my comments are not actually addressed to “Lazarus” the man who has lurched out the crypt and waddled around and come back into Parliament. My comments are not addressed to him. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Lazarus was more positive than that. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Lazarus was more positive that is true. He was a positive human being. But the sort of political cadaver that has come out of the crypt and back into Parliament I do not address my comments to him at all. It is a waste of time an utter waste of time. In fact actually it is a waste of time addressing any comments to Mr Banks because 30 seconds after you say something he will have forgotten them of course because he has amnesia. With your leave Mr Assistant Speaker I am happy to repeat my speech twice or in triplicate so that he will actually remember the words or perhaps his own name. 
But more seriously this is a simple choice for Parliament. Mr Banks can say that it is a waste of time but it is a simple choice. It is a simple choice that says that we are not prepared to stand by and allow a Government holus-bolus to go and sell off the strategic assets that we have. We know 80 percent of New Zealanders are against the National Government selling the assets it has put on the block now. 
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: Bollocks. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: We know that—what was that? I will not actually use the “b” word that Mr Coleman used because I think it was in relation to male anatomy or something like that and it would not be appropriate. But it is not rubbish to say that 80 percent of New Zealanders oppose these asset sales. It is not rubbish at all. Dr Coleman will remember those remarks as we take this fight out and when we get the referendum. We will have very little talk about mandates when the New Zealand people get a chance to put this to a vote in a referendum. So the choice for the National Party is very very simple. I invite Dr Coleman to get up tonight. We know that John Banks would sell anything he could but I invite Dr Coleman and the other Ministers to get up and tell us whether they are prepared to support the bill. If they are not prepared to support the bill then that tells us clearly that this Government does have an intent to go well beyond at some future date the assets it has put on the block. Are they prepared to answer this question then: is Dr Coleman prepared to guarantee that he will not sell KiwiRail in part or whole whilst he is in Government? 
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: Well there are no plans to. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Sorry? Hang on let us hear it. Sorry? 
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: There are no plans to. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Oh there are no plans to. Well that is in stark contrast to what Steven Joyce said. He said that he could not give a guarantee. He could not give a guarantee that KiwiRail would not be put on the block. So there are no plans to. That is not a guarantee of anything. Those are weasel words which say that it could well be on the block. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: That’s what Roger Douglas used to say when it was going to happen that afternoon: “No current plans.” 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Indeed. And I suspect that Dr Coleman would probably be the last person to be told anyway. But let us look at this— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: John Banks would forget. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: And John Banks would forget that is right; he would forget which way the washroom was and the Cabinet room was and his own name. What we have seen with the passage of the State-owned enterprises legislation is that one vote in this Parliament one vote out of 120 members of Parliament kissed goodbye to some seriously heavy-duty assets that are bringing in millions and billions of dollars for this country. It was down to one vote. I think Kiwis by their very nature think it should not be down to one vote and there should be a proper process. What this bill does is it sets in place a higher hurdle. If the Government will not support it then the Government has signalled to the people of New Zealand as have Mr Dunne and “Rumpelstiltskin” in the corner that it is prepared to actually sell and go further than those assets that are on the block. [ 
Interruption 
] Well there were a few dwarves—one was Dopey I think but we will not go there or Sleepy who I think had amnesia as well. 
But the point is that if the Government representatives are not prepared to support the legislation then I invite them to get up and tell us whether they will not go beyond in terms of selling assets those that they have taken out of the schedule. Will they sell additional assets? Will they guarantee that they will not sell additional assets? What this bill will do whether it is up or down tonight is tell the New Zealand people very clearly what the agenda is what the agenda could be and what the Government’s intent is. I invite the House to support this legislation. I look forward to the contributions. I know we will have some very strange speeches. But the acid test for this crew—not him John Banks—and Peter Dunne is that if they do not support this we know that other assets will be on the block.