We Can Still Stop Asset Sales - Law Passed But Issue Far From Over

Wellington, 29 June 2012 - The organiser of the hikoi ‘Aotearoa is Not For Sale’ that saw thousands of people across the country take to the streets opposing sales of our assets and resources is encouraging people to take action by switching their power companies away from those first mooted for sale to keep them in public hands.

Hikoi organiser Mike Smith says, “Perhaps there is a hint of humanity in John Key’s cold corporate heart when he said that assets will only be sold if they are in a healthy financial position. This opens the door to the next phase of public action to keep our power companies.”

“Mighty River Power is the first power station the Government intends to sell. Mighty River Power’s main retail outlet is Mercury Energy and their main customers are in the Auckland region.”

“Mercury Energy has been pumping out advertising recently probably to retain and increase customers to look in good shape for prospective buyers. So if businesses and households switch from Mercury Energy to another power company, Mighty River Power will not look so sexy to sell. This is not a perfect solution, but the best to buy time in the current situation”, he says.

See: http://www.facebook.com/BoycottMercuryEnergy

Switching power companies is easy at: www.powerswitch.org.nz

“The Government’s line is that selling 49% of power companies will still guarantee public ownership. But the devil is in the detail. The fine print says that each company’s Board of Directors can choose if they sell 100% of the physical assets. That means people like Jenny Shipley who is on the board of Genesis Energy, will get a say in selling the actual dams, wind turbines, and power stations,” says Mike Smith.

“The Government also needs to be transparent and reveal how much public money is being spent on public relations to make this rotten idea palatable to the public. The public relations roll out includes the public bribery of offering free shares and the letters on the Prime Minister’s letterhead that have arrived in letterboxes across the country this week.”

“In one three year term. this Government is aim at transfering public assets like powers stations and our resources like oil, gas, gold and silver to corporate control.”

ENDS

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