Shearer David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Shearer David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 19 June 2012. Volume:681;Page:3038. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
3. 
DAVID SHEARER (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does he stand by all his statements? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes. 
David Shearer 
: Does he stand by his statement that “The mixed-ownership model is there for a variety of extremely sound reasons.”; if so has he read Treasury advice that estimates that the Government earns $360 million a year in profits from our energy State-owned enterprises but will save only $266 million a year in borrowing costs by selling them—a loss of $100 million a year? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Yes to the first part of the question and to the second part of the question what I have seen is advice from Treasury that indicates that the forgone dividends for retaining only 51 percent and not 100 percent of the State-owned enterprises will be offset by the borrowing costs that we would otherwise face—in other words it is about a wash. 
David Shearer 
: Is it his intention to amend legislation to prevent the onsale of shares to foreigners; if not why not? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: No. 
David Shearer 
: If only 15 percent of the shares sold end up in overseas hands that will mean $100 million a year in profits going to offshore owners. Can he think of any other better reason for using $100 million in New Zealand? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Of course some dividends may go to foreigners. Many dividends will go to New Zealanders. But if we were borrowing the money I give the member a tip: we would be borrowing it from overseas. 
David Shearer 
: Given that the average residential electricity cost for the average consumer is 13 percent less from State-owned companies than from private energy companies can he say that prices will not rise to private company levels in the future? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: If one goes and has a cursory look at the price increases for electricity under the 9 years of the previous Labour Government they went up 72 percent. If one goes and has a look at the increase in the equivalent period of time under National they have gone up less. If one goes and has a look at the— 
David Shearer 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was quite a specific question about the difference between State-owned enterprises and private energy companies. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I have got to accept the question was specific in the way it related to energy prices from State-owned enterprises and private companies. The member argued that there was about a 13 percent difference from memory and the Prime Minister has not referred to that in his answer so far—[ 
Interruption 
]—so far. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: The second part of the answer would be that if one goes and looks at the Powerswitch website and has a look at who has the cheapest prices funnily enough they are actually companies in the private sector not the State-owned enterprises. 
David Shearer 
: Does he think that paying $120 million to multinational merchant bankers Goldman Sachs Group Macquarie Capital and Credit Suisse to sell our assets is a good use of Government money? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Yes because we will be realising between $5 billion and $7 billion worth of capital. But everybody watching this debate understands the difference between Labour and National. Labour wants to borrow more money spend more money put this country in hock and on this side— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! It is not time for a speech.