Labour proposes a new law to stop asset sales

Labour is introducing a new private members bill to prevent the sale of key strategic assets unless there is a clear public mandate.

"Assets like our power companies were built through the blood, sweat and tears of New Zealanders and paid for by Kiwis over generations. They are not National's to sell.

"John Key is arrogantly ignoring the fact that at least two-thirds of New Zealanders strongly oppose the sale of our community-owned assets. He should have to seek a specific mandate before flogging off those assets to corporate and foreign buyers," said Phil Goff.

The private members bill, in the name of State-Owned Enterprises spokesperson Clayton Cosgrove, will require any future proposal to partly or wholly privatise an SOE or Crown entity to gain support from 75 per cent of Parliament or from a majority of voters in a referendum.

The State-Owned Enterprises and Crown Entities (Protecting New Zealand's Strategic Assets) Amendment bill will entrench enterprises listed in Schedules 1 and 2 of the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986.

Those assets include our state electricity generation and transmission companies, NZ Post (including KiwiBank), Landcorp (including its extensive holding of farmland) and Solid Energy. It also includes other strategic assets like Radio New Zealand, Television New Zealand and the Crown research institutes.

"These assets belong to New Zealanders. National does not have the right to sell them without the support of Kiwis. Once they are sold they are lost forever.

"Labour will fight tooth and nail to keep our Kiwi-owned assets in Kiwi hands."

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