8. SUE BRADFORD (Green) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
Does he agree with the statement in the Speech from the Throne that New Zealand’s economic security will come from our firms being part of “a high skill, high productivity, and high wage economy.”; if so, how does the loss of 600 high-wage, high-skill engineering jobs from Air New Zealand contribute to this goal?
Does the Minister agree with the Aviation Industry Association that New Zealand will lose specialist engineering intellectual property and human capital if Air New Zealand maintains its long-haul aircraft overseas; and why does the Government not put its money where its mouth is, take a smaller dividend, and demonstrate that it really does have a commitment to keeping highly skilled, high-wage jobs in New Zealand?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
Firstly, of course, we have had only one dividend. Dividends are an unusual thing in the airline industry, so a promise to forgo a dividend would not have a great deal of effect. Secondly, we are not a 100-percent shareholder. There are minority shareholder interests to be considered, and those are very important to consider in this kind of situation. Thirdly, I do not want to sound overly cynical, but if the Government gets into the business of subsidising jobs in order to keep them when a company wants to restructure, I have a feeling there would be an awful lot of New Zealand companies lining up to restructure and pass on the wages of 600 jobs to the New Zealand Government.
John KeyWhen did the Minister become aware of the fact that Air New Zealand was likely to lay off the 617 engineers, given the rumour that abounded that he was aware of this prior to the election?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
I know of no such rumour. I know of attempts by the National Party to suggest it. I regard that as a slur upon the chair of the board. [ Interruption] The answer—if the member cares to wait—is that it was 4 or 5 days before the public announcement was made, which was well after the election.
Has the Minister received any advice on what impact Air New Zealand’s decision to sack skilled Kiwis and to buy offshore will have on customer loyalty, and hence on the value of the Government’s fairly large investment in Air New Zealand?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
I have no advice on that. I have no reason to believe there will be an impact on customer loyalty. Major international airlines are already outsourcing their maintenance of this sort without any apparent impact on customer loyalty.