Faafoi Kris: Mixed Ownership Model Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Faafoi Kris: Mixed Ownership Model Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Sitting date: 19 June 2012. Volume:681;Page:3094. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana) 
: 
 It is no surprise you have given me the call Mr Chair. As we peruse Part 1 of the Mixed Ownership Model Bill there are a plethora of points in this proposed legislation that we could poke holes in. We could look at whether or not this legislation takes power companies and Air New Zealand away from the purview of the Ombudsmen Act or the Official Information Act. But I want to look at clause 3 where this bill before us takes the power companies that we are talking about in this bill away from the State-Owned Enterprises Act and takes away their responsibility to act in a socially responsible manner. 
I think when you get to the guts of why Kiwis are so enraged that these asset sales are going ahead and why they are quite openly coming up to us when we are out in the streets and signing the petition that we are taking around to try to force a referendum to try to stop these asset sales this is really what upsets them about the fact that these assets are being sold. At the moment our State-owned enterprises and State-owned assets our three power companies have to act with a dual motive. Yes they have to make some money but they also have to act in the best interests of the New Zealand people and this bill removes that responsibility from our three power companies. What does that mean? I think this is what upsets Kiwi people so much because Kiwis care about Kiwis. They know that when these power companies get sold off the motivation of these companies changes from people and profits to purely profits. 
A number of arguments have been made already in the Chamber this evening and this afternoon about how much power prices will go up—somewhere around roughly 12 percent. The difference in the amount that Kiwis pay if they are with a private energy company or with a State-owned enterprise energy company is I believe on average— 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: What? You mean they are choosing to pay it? 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: —a weighted average Mr Brownlee—$256 per annum. Kiwis know that when the motivation of these energy companies becomes profit one thing is certainly going to happen and that is going to be that our power prices for our average Kiwis—our mum and dad investors as the Government likes to say—are going to be going up. Whom is that going to affect? Whom is that going to affect? It will be the most vulnerable Kiwis in our country who at the moment cannot afford to pay even their power bills let alone buy a stake in their State-owned enterprises. They are struggling to pay the bills to turn the heater on as we speak this winter. This Government wants to sell our assets off so it can make life harder for those vulnerable Kiwis and can put their power prices up. 
This Government ideologically wants to go ahead and say that it is OK to sell our State-owned assets. What is happening here is that our energy companies get hocked off—to mum and dad Kiwi investors this Government says but nowhere in this legislation does it protect our State-owned assets to stay in New Zealand. And our power prices will be going up. The present in this bill for all Kiwis around the country who right now are struggling to pay the bills is higher power prices. There will be higher power prices so it is going to be harder for our elderly and our poor to keep themselves warm in winter as it is now. 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: Labour policy. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: Gerry is fine. He is nice and warm. He is snuggly over there. He is fine. Sorry I should correct myself. Mr Brownlee is nice and snuggly and warm in his seat right now but Kiwis out there who do not have enough money to be watching this tonight so they are probably listening to it on their transistor radios are going to be struggling to pay the bills. They are going to be struggling to pay the bills and this Government wants to put the power prices up. 
These companies are already owned by Kiwis and that is what Kiwis love about them. They are owned by Kiwis so there is social responsibility on those companies to make sure that everyone can afford to pay their power bills—everyone not just those who can afford it but all Kiwis who have a stake in these companies. But with this bill that is going to change. Thank you very much to the National Government for selling our State-owned assets for all our vulnerable Kiwis! It was not enough to whack our elderly and our young in the Budget; the Government is also going to put the power prices up for our elderly and young with this bill. 
I ask that we have a look at a Supplementary Order Paper put in by my colleague Clayton Cosgrove which makes sure that the companies that are in this bill do have to have some form of social responsibility about them.