Taranaki joins day of action against asset sales

13th July 2012

"Taranaki is participating in a day of action against asset sales that will see protests in 14 major towns and cities across the country this Saturday" says Sam Jones, Taranaki organiser for the Service and Food Workers Union.

"We are meeting at 12pm at Huatoki Plaza on Saturday 14 July and are marching up to Jonathon Young's electoral office on Gill st which we will 'privatise,' at auction, to emphasize how ludicrous it is to sell facilities that belong to all of us to private individuals and companies."

The government wants to sell 49% of several state-owned enterprises starting with Mighty River Power.

“It is unfair to sell assets that currently belong to all New Zealanders to a small minority who can afford to buy shares," says Sam Jones

"Only 10% of New Zealanders invest in the stock market, and the rest of us struggle to pay our power bills that will only rise as these SOEs are sold and shareholders will demand increased profit. The bill to sell Mighty River Power has passed in the House, yet the majority of New Zealanders oppose the Government's plans."

"All Aotearoa/NZ has accomplished since they started selling off publicly owned assets in the 1980s is to substantially increase the now massive gap between rich and poor. This process has been greatly aggravated by trade liberalisation that has virtually shut down manufacturing in this country and by tax cuts that benefit the wealthy at the expense of the poor. We need to organise in our workplaces and our communities to make sure that social justice is not just a vague hope, but that it becomes a reality. Aotearoa is not for sale!" concluded Mr Jones.

The Taranaki protest is endorsed by the Taranaki trade union movement and organised by trade union activists, and members of the Green Party and Climate Justice Taranaki. Nationally, the protests are endorsed by Helen Kelly for the Council of Trade Unions, Phil Twyford for the Labour Party, Russel Norman for the Green Party, Hone Harawira for the Mana Movement. Also endorsed by We Are the University (Auckland), Unite Union, the EPMU, the Public Service Association, the Service and Food Workers Union, the Maritime Union of New Zealand, New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Equity, Citizens Against Privatisation, Public Services Association and Socialist Aotearoa.

ENDS

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