Ryall Tony: Mixed Ownership Model Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Ryall Tony: Mixed Ownership Model Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Sitting date: 19 June 2012. Volume:681;Page:3105. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister for State Owned Enterprises) 
: 
 This part of the Mixed Ownership Model Bill Part 2 puts in the law a number of the very important features of the whole mixed-ownership model particularly the 51 percent legislated guarantee—that the Government will retain 51 percent of all shares in these State-owned enterprises—together with the 10 percent cap on any other shareholder. This stands in quite strong contrast to the rules around the sale of State-owned enterprises when a previous Labour Government sold $9.5 billion of public assets in the 1980s—$9.5 billion. There was never a requirement of 51 percent Government ownership. Labour sold 100 percent to the Americans and Fay Richwhite. It sold 100 percent of the Shipping Corporation. It sold 100 percent of Petrocorp. It sold 100 percent of everything to the highest bidder and ordinary people never got a look in. Under this legislation we are maintaining 51 percent New Zealand control as a minimum owned by the Government and a 10 percent cap on any other shareholder. 
The important point behind all of this legislation is the need to help our country control its debt and this is part of a wider plan that this Government has to help control our nation’s debt and grow and protect our economy in the years ahead. With the world economic climate as it is this Government inherited a national debt of around $8 billion. In our role to protect our economy from the sharp edges of recession that debt has grown to $52 billion today. It is projected in the next 2½ to 3 years to grow to $72 billion. 
Louise Upston 
: How much? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Seventy-two billion dollars. We must control our debt. If you look at what is happening all around the world in Europe the United States and Canada countries that do not control their debt get themselves into significant trouble. If you look for example at Portugal whose overall debt public and private is remarkably similar to where New Zealand is—in that zone with Portugal Ireland Greece and Spain—Portugal for example has announced I think an 11 percent cut in its public health budget. This is what happens when countries let their debt get out of control. That is the reason why this Government has a plan which includes freeing up 49 percent of a range of State-owned enterprises keeping control at 51 percent with a 10 percent cap on any other shareholder and taking those proceeds to put into a Future Investment Fund which will then allow us to have resources to grow our economy and to grow our investments without having to grow our debt. 
That is all at risk. If the Government changes in 2014 we know that the party opposite has said that buying back these assets is not off the table. That is what those members said on television last week: buying back these assets is not off the table. If it is not off the table it is on our debt because that is the only way that Labour could buy these back in the unfortunate incident and that is why 51 percent Government control is so important as well as a 10 percent cap on any shareholder. That is because we need to make sure that we have this as a part of our plan to protect our economy control our debt and move forward in the future. 
This bill includes a Treaty of Waitangi clause. The Government undertook a very very lengthy iwi consultation process of about 10 hui up and down the country. Hundreds of people attended and I attended a number myself. It gave Maori an opportunity to talk about what interests and concerns they had. As a result of that and discussions with our confidence and supply partner the Maori Party we did translate into the legislation the Treaty clause in that legislation without requiring it though to apply to the private shareholders involved in this company. So we did that quite openly. 
This legislation has been to a select committee. There has been no urgency in respect of this. We have been quite upfront in our commitments. When the Prime Minister announced in January 2011 that we would have a 51 percent minimum shareholding for the Government and a 10 percent cap on any other shareholder this was the first time a Government had actually campaigned openly on the sale of part of State assets. Because when $10 billion of assets was sold in the 1980s the Government never told anybody.