9. Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does he stand by his statement yesterday about SOEs that “we want to give New Zealanders a chance to invest in these assets”?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) Link to this
Yes. Of course New Zealanders would be a top priority. Can I just say how surprised I am that the member is asking me that question, because David Parker was reported in the Otago Daily Times yesterday saying that he would lead the charge on State-owned enterprises.
Mr SPEAKERI have called the Hon Clayton Cosgrove. [ Interruption] I say to Government members this time that I have called the Hon Clayton Cosgrove.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
Can he specify which New Zealanders will get a chance to invest in State-owned assets, given that New Zealanders already own these assets via the Crown, through their taxes?
Yes. I daresay the providers of the 1.6 million KiwiSaver accounts are likely to be interested. I would have thought the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, which holds assets on behalf of all 4.4 million New Zealanders, would be interested, as well. I would have thought ACC would be interested. I would have thought quite a number of high retail investors would be interested. If the member taps his mate on the shoulder and asks him, he will find out that iwi are interested in buying some shares, too.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
Will the New Zealanders who have a chance to invest in State-owned enterprises include those people who, according to Statistics New Zealand, received an average wage increase of 1.7 percent last year, which was then completely eroded by the 4 percent increase in prices, meaning they have little or no disposable income?
I remind the member that wages have gone up by 16 percent and costs have gone up by 6 percent. But putting that to one side, as I said earlier, one of the things that really surprised me was that the distribution of the 1.6 million KiwiSaver accounts is heavily skewed towards low and middle income New Zealanders. They are saving for the long haul.
Jacinda ArdernWill the New Zealanders who have a chance to invest in State-owned enterprises include the 158,000 people who are currently unemployed and have little or no disposable income?
Yes, of course. They are free to do so, like any other New Zealander. But, of course, those who have very low levels of disposable income are not likely to do so, for that reason. That is one of the reasons why welfare reform will help those New Zealanders get into work. I say to that member how lucky those New Zealanders are that Labour is not in office, because if its emissions trading scheme had been rolled out they would be paying so much more, and if its air quality standards had been rolled out thousands of them would have lost their jobs. And, by the way, if they were working on The Hobbit, they would be working overseas.
Kelvin DavisWill the New Zealanders who have a chance to invest in State-owned enterprises include those people who are paying $25 to $40 extra a week for early childhood education and have less disposable income as a result?
If there are those people, then, yes; actually, their children would probably be at 100 percent teacher-led centres, so they are likely to be higher-income New Zealanders. I ask that member to please have the decency to pass his supplementary question to David Parker, because so far we have gone from Phil Goff, to Shane Jones, right through to that member, Kelvin Davis. I do not know who is next. Does Jacinda Ardern or anyone else want to ask a question over on that side?
I call the Hon Clayton Cosgrove. [ Interruption] I know that the issue is a hotly contested issue, but the member has the right to ask a supplementary question.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
Government diversions aside, is it not actually the case that the only people who will be in a position to invest in State-owned enterprises are the wealthiest 10 percent of New Zealanders, who received, thanks to the Prime Minister and his Government, 42 percent of the National Government’s tax cuts last year, and, of course, foreign institutions, which already own many of the former State assets?
I remind the member that two-thirds of all the personal tax cuts actually went to lower and middle income New Zealanders. Secondly, let me run through this one last time: there are $1.6 million KiwiSaver accounts; if the providers are not investing in a blue-chip company like Meridian Energy, what are they investing in? I make the offer one more time: could someone please pass a supplementary question to David Parker? I am thinking about letting him answer the questions, if he is not allowed to ask them.
I call the Hon Trevor Mallard. [ Interruption] I am on my feet. There will be silence when I am on my feet, on both sides of the House.
The member knows he cannot do that. He has just lost his supplementary question. But, indeed, he has got another one.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Is it his expectation that someone with assets of $50 million and a 2 percent current return, which results in a $1,000-a-week tax cut, will find this share offer attractive?
If there were such a mythical person, they might; I am sure there are lots of New Zealanders who would want to invest in those assets. Can I say to the member that I appreciate the fact that he has his hair very similar to mine—undyed and quite short, and grey on the sides.
Order! The House will come to order straight away! I have allowed too much misbehaviour today. Members who do not usually misbehave were quite disorderly there. I penalised the Hon Trevor Mallard for a very disorderly comment, and I do not think the Prime Minister’s comment at the end of that question was helpful. Labour has just regained its supplementary question.
Hon David ParkerI meant what I said to the House. A bit of fun is fair enough—the member will resume his seat for a moment—but we cannot be too disorderly. Today has been pretty noisy. It is the first question time of the year—I understand that—but I cannot let it go too far.
I seek leave to take up the Prime Minister’s offer that I answer the question that Clayton Cosgrove put to him.
Leave is sought for the member to answer a question that was put to the Prime Minister. Is there any objection to that? There is objection.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
I seek leave of the House to table the speech made by Labour’s finance spokesperson, David Cunliffe, supporting mixed-ownership of State-owned enterprises and private shareholding in those companies.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
It was made by the Labour finance spokesperson, David Cunliffe, in November 2010.