Mahuta Nanaia: General Debate 
Mahuta Nanaia: General Debate 
[Volume:672;Page:18349] 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato) 
: 
 Here is a question for members of the Government: if the economy is doing so well then why is unemployment up? If the economy is doing so well then why every day are people complaining about the cost of living the cost of petrol the cost of food increased GST and the cost of getting food from the supermarket? If the economy is doing so well why are more Maori and Pacific young people unemployed now under National than there were under the last Labour Government? I have to question the Government’s assertion about the economy because in making it National is further compounding the confusion with a short-term solution of selling State assets. That is all for what? Because the Government says that in selling State assets Kiwi families will get a better chance and—wait for it—perhaps power prices will go down. I think not. 
We are approaching winter. Families will feel the cold but more families in many places will feel winter in ways we cannot comprehend—yes because of the recession and families are already feeling the effects of a tough and constrained economy but also because families in Christchurch will feel winter more than others as many are still waiting for their needs to be addressed. But in many other communities families will feel winter because they will have to make choices such as whether to turn on the heater. 
I am concerned about that so I will move to the real issues affecting families and say why selling State assets is not a long-term solution that will help them. The Government wants to sell Meridian Energy Mighty River Power Genesis Power Solid Energy— 
David Bennett 
: Oh rubbish! 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA 
: That member may say “rubbish” but we have heard the Prime Minister say: “Not in this term.” My colleague Lianne Dalziel has made the very good point that the next election will be a referendum on selling State assets. That is very clear—very clear. But we have to ask whether selling State assets will actually deliver what National is saying to those households who will feel winter this year. It will not lower their power prices. It may not guarantee actually that the dividends coming off the State-owned energy companies can be reinvested into some very good schemes that are helping households like the Warm Homes initiative under which many homes can be insulated so that they can be warm and healthy for children. There is no guarantee that the dividends taken from selling State assets will be reinvested in those types of initiatives or reinvested in the community. Some communities have put roofs over their pools others have got a lot of community development projects off the ground and there has been some Modern Apprenticeships training through the reinvestment of dividends from many of those State-owned enterprises. But there are no guarantees if those assets are to be sold. 
I am concerned about that because if we look at the $732 million that comes off those State-owned assets what could we fund back to Kiwis? We could fund 10300 teachers which would lower the student-teacher ratio in our classrooms and give many more of our kids a better opportunity in the classroom environment to learn succeed and do better. What else could those dividends be put back into? They could be put back into 12600 new police officers 33000 extra hip replacements 69700 university placements and 91500 polytech placements. That would increase the number of our kids who could stay in education go into higher education and get better skills in order to get a better job. If those dividends do not come back into the Government coffers but are lost as a result of the sale of State-owned assets then what? It is simple: those kids will have to pay for their education and pay more. 
Who are the kids who will miss out in the event that that type of revenue is not reinvested in opportunities like that? I will tell members. It will be Maori and Pacific kids and kids who come from modest and low-income families. It will be difficult for them to pay for a higher education. So what are they consigned to under a National Government that will sell State-owned assets ripping out those dividends from the public purse? They are consigned to a lack of opportunity. This Government should not be selling State assets and it should not be signalling— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: The member’s time has expired. The time for this debate has expired. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.