Sowry Roger: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Sowry Roger: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:609;Page:6248] 
2.  
Hon ROGER SOWRY (Deputy Leader—NZ National) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: Does he stand by the Minister of Transport’s comments that the Government would not get into a bidding war if Toll upped its bid for Tranz Rail; if so why? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 Yes for the very good reason that he was repeating comments I had made earlier. 
Hon Roger Sowry 
: Has the Minister or any of his representatives met with Toll Holdings since it upped its bid and will he or any of his representatives meet with Toll before the August shareholding meeting of Tranz Rail; if not why not? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Yes. A member of my office and a Treasury official met with Mr Little yesterday. I am really not clear whether there will be another meeting. It is also fair to say that Toll was not really clear about some of the aspects of its bid. 
Lynne Pillay 
: What are the Government’s objectives in the offer it has made to Tranz Rail? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: We want to regain control of the track so that we can enforce performance standards on operators and so that we can secure rail as a vital piece of infrastructure in the national interest. 
Peter Brown 
: Does the Minister believe it is at all possible that the following scenario—that the Government owns the tracks and Tranz Rail Toll and perhaps others operate trains on them—could emerge and if that is a possible scenario will the Government do anything to assist its development? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Under the heads of agreement the Government will own the track and Tranz Rail will operate the trains on it. 
Dr Muriel Newman 
: How on earth can the Government pretend it is not in a bidding war with Toll when it has promised to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the rail network; and is that hostile approach using the bottomless pit of taxpayers’ money an example of how this Labour Government works in partnership with business? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: New Zealand business in general has warmly welcomed the Government’s approach on this matter. About the only opposition of any significance that I have heard has come from the National Party and ACT. 
Hon Roger Sowry 
: At the meeting that someone from his office had with Toll Holdings yesterday was an apology conveyed on his behalf to Toll for his impertinent comments that Toll had “had their chance and blew it”? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: No nor did Toll further come the raw prawn with me in relation to its version of previous events. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Does the Government’s proposal for Tranz Rail potentially represent greater value to shareholders as a long-term strategy than the current share price or even the price that Toll is offering? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think that is fair comment. Indeed the Toll chairman is quoted as saying that one of the reasons for it upping its price was it was assuming that the Government would own the tracks and carry out the maintenance. We have had to point out to Toll whose bid seems to have been based on the assumption that there is already a $20 million a year subsidy that that subsidy does not exist and will not exist unless the Government’s bid is approved. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Can I ask the Minister of Finance whose understanding of commercial reality we should follow his or the head of Toll's—given that in 1993 his party did not oppose the sale even though it was a complete bargain sale to friends of the Labour Party who had subscribed $1 million to its funds in the 1987 election? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I can say very clearly that at the meeting held in my office it was made clear to Toll that it was on a collision course with the Government. I have a rather excessively large number of witnesses to that meeting. 
Hon Roger Sowry 
: Does the Minister still believe that Toll is on a collision course with the Government or was the meeting yesterday part of a patch-up process to enable the two parties to work together? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: It is fair to say that we still have some doubts about what course Toll is on so it is hard now to tell whether it is a collision one. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Would the Labour Party’s view be different if for example Toll was to put $1 million into its campaign account—as Fay Richwhite did in 1987? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: No it would not. But all contributions are gratefully received.