Peters Winston: General Debates 
Peters Winston: General Debates 
[Volume:619;Page:14820] 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand is meant to be going through some sort of economic boom except most New Zealanders do not know about it and cannot feel it. The reason for that is so much of this country’s asset wealth is owned overseas and so much of our profit is repatriated overseas every year. 
It has been a very sad week for most New Zealanders because they still cling to the hope that they may one day own their country again. I am referring to the sale of Powerco at a bargain-basement price to the Australian-based Prime Infrastructure. The ghost of Ned Kelly is now galloping down Devon Street in New Plymouth. A lot of questions are being asked in Taranaki about the sale of a high-yield asset and the way it was carried out apart from the obvious question of why the people of Taranaki were not told about it. Why were they not consulted? Why was there no consultation process at all? How many people in the Taranaki community knew what was going on and approved of it? Do they want the Australians running their energy industry like the Australians now run our banking system? The Australians are not bad people but why do we want them running our crucial energy companies as well as all of our banks with the exception of two? 
Why have not all the Taranaki Electricity Trust trustees who control nearly 12 percent of Powerco’s shares seen the documents of sale? Why were they not all consulted about the final price and most important of all about the method of payment? Only 62.5 percent is to be paid in cash; the rest is in “high-yield” securities. And if it is high-yield why sell it when it belongs to the people of that area? How can those Taranaki Electricity Trust trustees ratify a sale when they still do not know all the details of the sale and its conditions except for what they have learnt through press conferences or the media? Why were the opponents of this sale in positions of responsibility totally ignored by the people who wanted the sale to go ahead? Who was driving all of this and who stands to benefit? Will the good people of Taranaki get their fair share or will it go to Australia as so much else has in recent years? And when will we all see the fine print for the sale? We in New Zealand First are sick and tired of people getting up and saying that this sale is good for the country good for New Zealand. For example we had it with the sale of Air New Zealand; we had it with the sale of New Zealand Rail and we all ended up seeing people bleed it for all it was worth and now it is back as our responsibility as a key part of our infrastructure. When will we see the fine print? 
Powerco was sold it was claimed for the purpose of efficiency except it is not being bought for that purpose; it is being bought for the purpose of profit. How come this is going on in 2004 when we as a country have lost so much? Once again we New Zealanders and New Zealand are the big losers. A crucial key economic component called power has been turned upside down by the National Party. Those in positions of trust as trustees must surely understand that they stand with a responsibility to the people who are the beneficiaries—who are after all the owners. There has been no consultation and no details and the sale is to be ratified later this month. This must be a case where the Government should be asking some serious questions. It should not wait around for the Overseas Investment Commission but should ask some serious questions now and ensure that the practice that Labour began between 1984 and 1990 and that National pursued— 
Lianne Dalziel 
: Excuse me electricity reforms were 1998. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: No I am talking about asset sales. I know Labour sold $9 billion worth. Along came National promising not to sell out our turangawaewae and it did the same. Here we are in 2004 and a high-yield publicly owned asset is being flogged off without anybody knowing what is going on. It is certainly not good enough. The sooner we have some answers from the Minister the better. The sooner we find out the better.