Brownlee Gerry: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Brownlee Gerry: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 29 June 2010. Volume:664;Page:12233. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister of Energy and Resources) 
: 
 There was a man the Hon Clayton Cosgrove speaking with all the power conviction and passion of a reformed smoker. I say that because he is a reformed asset salesman. Everyone knows that this country’s assets were put on the block at ridiculously low prices by the Roger Douglas - led Government of the 1990s. They also know that the National Government and John Key the Prime Minister have said there will be no asset sales in this term of Government and that if there is a change in policy we will tell people before we go into a general election unlike our political opponents who just cannot trust themselves to stay away from such a policy. So what we see is Mr Cosgrove practically unable to give a speech—and he practically would not have a speech if I did not come to Parliament each day because that is the only thing he can talk about—because he by and large just wants to get in there and do it. He wants to get in there and have a cigarette—I am sorry he wants to get in there and sell some assets but he cannot so he accuses everybody else of doing exactly what he wants to do. 
The issue is a straw man as far as this Government is concerned. We could not have made our position clearer. What we know is that when John Key says something will happen it happens and when he says something will not happen it does not happen. 
I will now turn to the issue Mr Cosgrove spoke about: New Zealanders’ power prices under the State-owned enterprise model. During the period from 2000 right through to 2008 the retail electricity price for New Zealanders rose by 73 percent or three times the rate of inflation. Over the last short time we have been in Government we have constructed a proper review of the structure of the electricity market and of the way electricity is sold in this country. Then we constructed a bill which has been through a select committee and is currently awaiting its second reading in the House. During that process we have seen a significant change in behaviour from retailers in the electricity sector with the real price-rise for electricity being just below that of inflation in the term of this Government unlike the rampant increase of three times the rate of inflation under the previous Labour Government. 
It is also worth noting that this Government has been concerned about how warm New Zealanders are in their homes and it has made a commitment to provide insulation and clean heating for New Zealanders with very substantial grants. The previous Government said it would divert State-owned enterprise profits for that purpose. Well it talked about it but never quite got around to doing it. 
One other point on which I would like to congratulate the Minister for State Owned Enterprises is that particularly in the electricity sector while prices have been stable profitability has been high and he has been insistent that the performance of the businesses themselves should not be measured simply by how much they can charge their consumers. One of the things we are seeing is that we have genuine pressure on prices to remain low along with genuine commitment inside the State-owned enterprises to increase their performance and thus their profitability. In the end that is a revenue stream that all New Zealanders benefit from. 
I worry about Mr Cosgrove and some of his ridiculous claims. They tend to deny the fact that is clear and evident to everyone—that State-owned enterprises are performing extremely well at the moment. State-owned enterprises are dynamic organisations and formulate their own planning as to how they might move forward. When Trevor Mallard was Minister for State Owned Enterprises it seems it was OK for New Zealand Post to enter into some very interesting sort of arrangements or for the Kordia Group to engage in some very interesting and quite big loss-making arrangements. Mr Cosgrove comes into the Chamber and wants to make a case that everything is all doom and gloom and bad and sad because the National Government is now overseeing this particular portfolio this particular suite of investments. I think that the taxpayers and residents of this country should be very very satisfied with the work of the Minister. They should be satisfied with the progress of State-owned enterprises in making a greater contribution to this country’s economy.