2. Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Can he rule out ever initiating the privatisation of New Zealand Post?
Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) Link to this
In terms of State-owned enterprises in general the Government has not at this stage given any consideration to future asset sales. Therefore, I cannot rule things in or out. As I have said many times before, if the policy changes we will be very open about it and campaign on it at the next election. In addition to the general policy, I have ruled out any future privatisation of Kiwibank. For the member’s benefit, I note that that obviously rules out the full or partial sale of any parent company.
Given that he cannot rule out the sale of New Zealand Post as the parent company of Kiwibank—
Hon Gerry Brownlee—no, no—why should New Zealanders believe that it is anything other than a sham for him now to say that he will not sell Kiwibank?
If there is to be no sale of Kiwibank, why did Bill English, his Minister of Finance, raise that as a possibility following the Budget; and why did he, the Prime Minister, indicate at his post-Cabinet press conference on 31 May that that was an option to be considered?
When the Prime Minister was asked in the House on 26 May whether he ruled out initiating the sale of Kiwibank, why did he not simply answer “Yes.”?
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The House, as you know, is the arena where Opposition members, on behalf of the New Zealand public, have the opportunity to hold the Government to account. My question was a serious question, because clearly the Prime Minister was considering the sale of Kiwibank at that stage. Do you believe that a flippant reply like that is adequate when most New Zealanders are asking that same question?
Mr SPEAKERA point of order is being heard. Front-bench members on both sides should cease interjecting. When members ask Ministers why they have chosen to do something, Ministers are at liberty to say why. Members asking the questions might not think that the “why” is that great, but it is certainly the prerogative of Ministers to say why. The only thing the Prime Minister should not have done was to say that he wanted to keep you waiting, because the Speaker is not involved in this matter. But the quality of the answer was up to the Prime Minister.
When the Prime Minister indicated a fortnight ago that he would consider, or would not rule out considering, the privatisation of Kiwibank, had he forgotten that in the lead-up to the last election he promised nine times not to sell, or had he simply hoped that everyone else had forgotten?
No. As I just said earlier on, not only have I ruled out selling Kiwibank but I have ruled out selling a parent company of Kiwibank. But if I ever did change my mind and decide I wanted to sell a post office, the person I would refer to most would be Phil Goff, because the last person who sold a post office did so in 1989 and it was Phil Goff.
Why did the Prime Minister tell the House on 26 May this year that “No consideration has been given to selling any State-owned enterprises yet.”, when John Whitehead, the Secretary to the Treasury, told the Finance and Expenditure Committee that Treasury was working on the question of the privatisation of State-owned enterprises?