Bradford Sue: General Debate 
Bradford Sue: General Debate 
[Volume:640;Page:10702] 
SUE BRADFORD (Green) 
: 
 The Green Party is horrified at the prospect that the directors of Auckland International Airport may get away with selling it off to the highest bidder regardless of that bidder’s nature or origins. That airport is one of Auckland’s and New Zealand’s key strategic assets. It is our main gateway for inbound and outbound tourists. It is a major airport for our imports and exports and the company has one of New Zealand’s largest business activity zones owning large swathes of prime commercial land with strategic harbour frontage. 
Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis is totally opposed to a 51 percent foreign-owned and controlled stake in the airport. We agree with him that such a move is inappropriate and that the control of such a key asset should be left in the hands of New Zealanders. Unless the Minister for Land Information David Parker and Associate Minister of Finance Trevor Mallard make a clear decision not to allow the control of this key infrastructure asset to pass into foreign hands it will be a disaster for both the Auckland regional economy and any long-term vision of national self-reliance. 
The Rt Hon Winston Peters was absolutely right when he stated in a media release yesterday afternoon that the core question here that needs to be asked about this proposal is who will profit? Anyone can see that allowing Dubai Aerospace Enterprise or any other foreign company for that matter to take control of Auckland International Airport would also simply mean that in future the profits will flow out of our economy and literally into the pockets of the highest overseas bidder. We have sold off enough of our economy land and housing already over the last 20 to 25 years. A simmering resentment burns around New Zealand and I think it cuts across all party political lines about the extent to which we have allowed the family silver and even the family gold to be hocked off to rich overseas individuals and companies. We have all seen the disaster that eventuated when our national rail system was sold—something that made us a worldwide laughing stock; I remember it well. We are still somewhat desperately trying to pick up the pieces now. 
To allow our largest international airport which services our one major metropolis to be sold to a controlling foreign interest would be just as disastrous as the sale of the rail system. The Auckland International Airport board chairman Mr John Maasland makes claims that such a sale would boost tourism. Tourism earns us around $18 billion a year and is our largest export sector accounting for 18.7 percent of our export revenue and 9 percent of our GDP. The number of international arrivals has doubled since 1993 to 2.4 million in 2006. Tourism is in fact one of the world’s fastest-growing industries as well as one of our own. 
Foreign investors have been quick to realise the lucrative potential of the tourism industry and have been buying up considerable key assets. Four of the top 10 transport and tourism operators in this country for example are foreign-owned. However although ownership does not guarantee any new investment in our country it does guarantee significant outflows of assets in the form of the profit paid out through dividends as anyone can understand. We have a history in this country of lucrative national assets being corporatised which readies them for privatisation. They are then privatised even if they are sold only to the New Zealand public and are taken over legally with the assent of a board whose primary interests are not aligned with our country’s interests. How does it help the New Zealand economy if the tourists who visit New Zealand end up landing at a foreign-owned airport travelling in foreign-owned campervans visiting foreign-owned iconic tourist sights and spending money that will simply go back to the overseas owners? 
Finally I will just add a very Green caveat to this and any other discussion about the future of airports and air travel in this country. We have to recognise that with the imminent impacts of climate change and peak oil becoming increasingly apparent to most of us at least the future of air travel is uncertain and it needs to be managed carefully. The supply of oil will become increasingly scarce and expensive within the next 5 years even if great discoveries eventuate off Taranaki or in the Southern Ocean. We will need to manage a reduced quantity of air transport for the greatest benefit of our country and it is unlikely that such careful management would be either a motivation or anything like a priority for the prospective buyers from Dubai.