Peters Winston: General Debate 
Peters Winston: General Debate 
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Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 Tens of thousands are to be made work-ready and work-prepared for an economy that is not work-creative. That is simply what is going on in this country.  
But I want to talk about the form of democracy we have where the Prime Minister of this country slides away from his responsibilities for his Ministers and again he did it today. You see he has spent by my observation in the last 2 years less than 3 hours a week being responsible for democracy in this country. In the last 2 years since 2010 no questions have been asked of the Prime Minister on a Thursday. Since 2010 no questions have been asked of the Prime Minister on a Thursday which suggests he is not even here.  
He does not bother to come to the House. In fact if he was on an Indian reservation he would get a name like “Don’t Come Thursday”. It would be “Mr Don’t Come Thursday” or “No Show John on a Thursday in a Democracy”. That is what we have today with these assets being sold which the people all own and have built up— 
Hon Anne Tolley 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It is my understanding that there is a very explicit Standing Order that forbids members commenting on the absence of any member from the House. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: It is not Thursday yet. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Sorry. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member should be sorry. I failed to observe he had not resumed his seat during the point of order. The Hon Anne Tolley is quite correct but I listened carefully to the Rt Hon Winston Peters and he was not referring to the absence of a member from the House right now; he was commenting on the attendance of members historically. It is a fine line; I may seek a little guidance on it for the future but I chose not to interrupt today and I ask the member maybe to avoid any further reference to any absence of members from the House in the rest of his speech. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: We need to get more cameras here in this place because then some people would stay for more photo opportunities on a Thursday. I am trying to be creative here. We need more cameras so that the man can stay for another photo opportunity.  
We know from the best assessment given by Government officials that these assets on the hock are at a median 49 percent out of about $7.6 billion. Yet we have a Minister of Finance and a Prime Minister going around telling the country that it is somewhere between $5 billion and $7 billion. Let us say as Mr English said that they get their best guess of $6 billion. That is a 20 percent rebate and discount and guess who it will go to? Not to every New Zealander. Not to mum and dad investor. Not to people who built this asset up. No it will go to— 
Hon Members 
: Their mates. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: —their mates. That is the way that they believe in democracy. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Their mates! 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Oh I know. Look Mr Henare I can say this: there is a stack of members here who have got exactly 2¾ years to go from this House and go they will because of these sorts of policies. If I was in that caucus I would be telling them to draw back from this stupidity because it will cost them plenty come election time.  
But they will press on regardless of all evaluations by for example the Crown Ownership Monitoring Unit which is a unit that has got together a range of valuations: Solid Energy at $2.23 billion at 49 percent; Transpower at $1.53 billion; Mighty River Power at $3.63 billion; Genesis Energy at $1.63 billion; Meridian Energy at $6.5 billion—that is $15.52 billion of which 49 percent is $7.6 billion.  
So what does Mr Key say? Well he will settle for $5 billion so that his mates can get the rest. And you know what will happen the next day.  
Hon Member 
: He’s a trader.  
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Oh yes this is what a junk bond dealer from Merrill Lynch would do. They would not look at the national interest. Oh no. They would just do the deal for their mates and those people who shuffle paper and who have an unadulterated devotion to a thing called greed.  
This is a Government not for ordinary people. This Government is not a Government for the New Zealand people. It is a Government for the elite those over-mighty rich subjects that so diligently back the National Party. It is not the majority it is interested in just that of its mates. 
Hon Member 
: What about Grey Power? 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Oh do not worry about Grey Power. Grey Power is starting a petition and then they will be out in their hundreds and thousands to try to make sure that the recalcitrant wayward member from Whanganui exits this place as he should.  
It is a scandal. You know last year there was Bill English travelling around Asia telling all the people over there that the country is for sale but he never told the people back here that it is for sale at a massive discount did he? Then he said that it was not even his best guess; it was just a guess. The Prime Minister then tried to quantify that and when he was asked in the House about what he had done what did he do? He flicked the question to somebody else. He ducked it.  
Well you can guarantee every question from now on will be: “Does the Prime Minister have confidence in so and so?” and we will see what happens then because he will not be able to pull that stunt in the future. Selling highly profitable State assets is foolish and short-term. It is even worse for National to flog them off as I say to its mates.  
And how many times has Mr Key since he became Prime Minister spent at Macquarie? I would like to know. I ask one of those backbenchers over there to find out.