Norman Russel: State-Owned Enterprises Amendment Bill Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Norman Russel: State-Owned Enterprises Amendment Bill Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Sitting date: 26 June 2012. Volume:681;Page:3295. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Dr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader—Green) 
: 
 I rise to speak on behalf of the Green Party on the third reading of the Government’s privatisation legislation the State-Owned Enterprises Amendment Bill and the Public Finance (Mixed Ownership Model) Amendment Bill. History is the victory of remembering over forgetting and I guess most New Zealanders—if the polls are right—understand their history. It would seem that most of the Government members do not and they have lost or forgotten the lessons of history as they go down the privatisation path once again. 
What has I think been really inspiring about this debate is that most New Zealanders actually do have a vision a long-term vision for their country. The Government is promoting a very short-term vision: “We will just sell it off and pay the bills today but we will have nothing left to pay the bills tomorrow.” But most New Zealanders do not subscribe to the short-term vision of this Government when it comes to asset sales. What we have seen over and over again is that in spite of the Government’s public relations campaign most New Zealanders overwhelmingly do not want their power companies privatised. Most New Zealanders understand that this is part of the long-term vision for their country. 
When people sign the referendum petition they are not just signing a piece of paper that says: “I demand my say on privatisation of the assets.” What they are saying is: “I believe in my country.” What every one of those people who sign the petition—the 100000 people who have already signed the petition—is saying is: “I believe in the future of Aotearoa New Zealand.” Every one of those people is saying that. The 350000 people who will be signing the petition to force the referendum on asset sales those people are the future of our country. They are the people who believe that Aotearoa New Zealand has a future that they are a part of it that they want to invest in our future and that they are willing to hang on to the assets and make an investment in the future of their country. 
National has decided that the way it will solve its short-term economic and fiscal problems is to flick off the assets that it inherited when it got into Government. In order to pay the bills that the Government has and in order to fill the fiscal hole that it has because of the tax cuts to upper-income earners—the fiscal hole that this Government created because of the tax cuts that it gave away to upper-income earners—it is flicking off the assets. It is selling the assets that were built up over generations. 
The people who have been signing the petition—the people who believe in the long-term future of our country—are saying: “I believe in the long-term vision of my country. I am willing to make a stand.” It is not just about saying “I demand that I should have a say.” although it is about that. People are saying: “I should have a say about the future of my country and these assets that the Government is selling on for short-term gain.” People are saying: “I believe in the future of my country and I am willing to stand up for that future.” 
The Green Party put up an alternative future for these energy companies in the election campaign. In that election campaign the majority of voters cast their vote in favour of parties that wanted to retain the assets. A minority of voters voted for parties that supported asset sales. There is a very narrow majority in this House—61 votes to 60—in favour of asset sales because some of the parties that supported retention of the assets did not make the 5 percent threshold. In that election campaign the Green Party said: “We should retain these assets. They are our future.” 
This is the next Fonterra for our country. The renewable energy sector is growing dramatically internationally and these companies have the expertise and critical mass to actually project New Zealand into that global renewable energy market and renewable energy future. That was the alternative vision and that remains the alternative vision. These companies should partner with private sector entrepreneurs. We have always supported that because we believe that the private sector has a huge contribution to make. But by retaining the companies in State ownership we ensure that the headquarters stay in New Zealand and we ensure that the research and development stays in New Zealand. 
We have seen what happens to every other infrastructure sector in New Zealand when they are flogged off. Whether it is telecommunications or banking the companies get bought up from overseas the headquarters are moved overseas—usually to Australia—the research and development is moved to overseas and New Zealand simply becomes a profit centre for a multinational corporation. These companies will no longer become an export platform to the world and part of New Zealand’s economic future. Instead they like the banking sector simply become a drain on the New Zealand economy. 
We stood up against that and most New Zealanders voted against that at the election. Every poll shows that the vast majority of New Zealanders believe in the long-term future of their country which is why they oppose privatisation. The majority of New Zealanders understand what this Government is doing. They understand that this is a short-term fix and that it will in the end simply leave us with more debt in the long term. It does not solve the underlying challenges which are quite real that face the New Zealand economy. That is what this legislation does. 
So every person who signs the referendum is writing their name down and saying: “I believe in the future of New Zealand.” That is what that referendum is all about. That is what the petition is all about. It is all about people who are willing to stand up against the short-term vision of this Government a Government that has embarked on a reckless fiscal and economic path and a Government that is selling assets in order to cover a short-term fiscal hole. New Zealanders are saying: “We don’t agree with that strategy. We have a vision for our country and that is why we are signing the petition. That is why we believe in our future.” 
The other part I think that is important about this debate is the understanding of the nature of the electricity sector in New Zealand. There is this naive belief within the Government that there is competition within the electricity market in New Zealand—that perfect competition will solve all of the problems in the electricity market in New Zealand. It is a naive belief. It is childish to think that that is the case. The electricity sector will always be characterised by problematic competition because there are so few players. The retailers and the generators are hooked together as one in so many of the major companies. There is actually very limited competition in the sector so it is very easy for these companies to extract super-profits out of the electricity market. So the naive belief that we hear from the Government that somehow perfect competition will lead to lower prices is simply not true and the evidence is to the contrary. 
 The private electricity companies charge on average 12 percent more for electricity than State-owned enterprises do currently when you look at the analysis of the data. This will only get worse because Contact Energy and TrustPower have made public statements that they resent the State-owned enterprises because the State-owned enterprises put an anchor on the price of electricity in New Zealand. And once that anchor is lifted then they are free to jack up prices and extract even more revenue from the sector. 
We have a long-term challenge around climate change and we have a long-term solution in front of us in the form of these energy companies. This is one of New Zealand’s great opportunities to take advantage of the growth in the global green economy and this Government does not seem able to see the reality that is facing it right in the face. It cannot seem to listen to all the leading business people from Pure Advantage and numerous other groups who have spoken to it about the green economic opportunities that are available of which these companies are some of the prime examples yet over and over this Government does not understand. It is trying to build an economy in the 19th century when we are in the 21st century. All it does is invest in carbon-intensive and fossil fuel - intensive companies. 
The transfer of wealth involved in this privatisation from the 99 percent to the 1 percent is a disgraceful transfer of wealth that the National Party Peter Dunne and John Banks are forcing through this Parliament. The fight is not finished. Every person who signs the petition is saying “I believe in the long-term future of New Zealand.” and the Greens are with them.