Twyford Phil: General Debate 
Twyford Phil: General Debate 
[Volume:659;Page:8393] 
PHIL TWYFORD (Labour) 
: 
 Kiwi families are doing it hard this Christmas season. Unemployment is up rents are up and prices are up. But what do we hear from this National-ACT Government? With 16 days to go before Christmas Kiwi families are still waiting for a sign that this Government cares about the recession and has some ideas about what to do about it. 
In question time today we heard the Minister of Local Government reveal that this Government is stripping away—systematically stripping away—the protections against the privatisation of our local body assets. That is what this Government cares about. When it could actually be making a difference to Kiwi families when it could be caring about jobs what is it doing? It is pursuing a sneaky agenda to pave the way for our assets to be flogged off. The Ports of Auckland is worth $500 million and what is this National Government doing? It is paving the way for the Ports of Auckland to be flogged off to its mates. 
Why is that a bad idea? Why do Aucklanders care about the Ports of Auckland and why do they not want it to be flogged off by this National Government? Let me tell members why. There are three good reasons. The Ports of Auckland is a natural monopoly. If we privatise the Ports of Auckland we are almost certainly handing it over to foreign ownership and to rent seeking and price gouging. 
The second reason is the need for port rationalisation. The country is crying out for the Tauranga and Auckland ports to be rationalised. If members opposite insist on setting up those ports for privatisation they will never be rationalised. Thirdly Aucklanders are waiting and waiting for the Ports of Auckland to be developed and opened up for public access. If members opposite insist on opening them up to privatisation they will never ever be developed for public access and in the public interest. The red gates on the Port of Auckland will be slammed shut forever. That is why 78 percent of Aucklanders are opposed to the privatisation of the Ports of Auckland. 
But here is the lie behind this entire debate. All year National MPs and Ministers have been saying that there is no privatisation agenda yet what do we see? We see water infrastructure being opened up for private ownership for periods of up to 35 years. We see section 88 of the Local Government Act 2002 about to get the axe. That is the section that requires councils to consult the public before the contracting out of public services to the private sector. Now we see that the protections for the Ports of Auckland are about to be thrown overboard by this National-ACT Government. 
Here is the lie. Members on that side of the House are too gutless—too gutless— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: Order! 
PHIL TWYFORD 
: All right Mr Assistant Speaker I will say that they are too timid on that side of the House—too timid—to tell the people of New Zealand what they actually believe in. They are too frightened to campaign openly that they support a privatisation agenda. They have a Prime Minister who keeps a big smile on his face and says that there will be no State asset sales and that there is no intention to privatise. We have a Minister of Local Government who says that this is a “pretend debate” while he sets about systematically dismantling the protections of our assets. 
Rodney Hide is an extremist who can barely break the margin of error but at least he is transparent. He puts up crazy proposals to Cabinet week after week. They do not all get through but three have now: water assets can now be owned by the private sector for up to 35 years; section 88 which we have just talked about is to get the axe; and now the Ports of Auckland will be stripped of the protections that would give Aucklanders a say through a referendum before privatisation. For these policies it is not the crazy fantasies of Rodney Hide we have to blame; it is the National Government. 
Rodney Hide has worked out that he cannot get away with outright asset sales so his strategy is to weaken all the protections that have been put in place over the years. His agenda and it is the agenda of this National Government is to pave the way for privatisation. The Minister pointed out in question time that he was putting in place a 3-year moratorium so that assets could not be sold under the super-city. But at the same time he is stripping away the requirement that there should be a referendum. That is dishonest. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.