9. LESLEY SOPER (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises
What reports has he received on the benefits of diversification in the State-owned enterprises portfolio?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister for State Owned Enterprises) Link to this
This Labour Government supports State-owned enterprises expanding their scope of business into new markets. Kiwibank is an obvious example of one that is successful and is a core asset. Express Couriers, a subsidiary of New Zealand Post, is another example. This joint venture with DHL has made a real and positive contribution to New Zealand Post’s financial position—
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
No, we actually own half the joint venture. It is very successful internationally because DHL has international assets, which has meant that our profits are higher. The taxpayer gets a bigger return. We will, however, take the profits from selling non-core assets, such as the $800 million profit from the sale of an Australian wind farm; from memory, it was a return on the original investment of about 130 percent. Where we can use that cash for better purposes—in this case, building roads in Auckland—we will do so.
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
Yes, I have—several. Bill English wants to sell all of them all, or at least part of all of them, John Key wants to sell a few, and Gerry Brownlee is too confused between a share and an asset to make any sense at all.
Metiria TureiCan the Minister describe the benefits to the climate of the State-owned asset Landcorp clearing forest for dairy farms, with the resulting double whammy of carbon dioxide and methane emissions?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
Landcorp managing that process for the landowner—which it is not—is no different from any other enterprise doing that.
Gerry BrownleeCan the Minister explain why his Government sold Southern Hydro, why it sold off some of Mighty River Power’s geothermal assets, why it sold AgVax Developments, why it sold numerous State farms, and why it sold numerous State buildings, and, most important, can he explain the extraordinary sale of the southern transmission grid?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
I shall take a couple of those as examples. Landcorp sells farms. That is part of its job. It is the old Department of Lands and Survey. For more than 100 years it has bought land, developed farms, and sold them to cockies. That is what it does. It is a good thing to have a Government agency doing that. Southern Hydro is another very good example. We bought into a development—[ Interruption]
Madam SPEAKERWe are in danger of having the Minister repeat his answer in silence, so would members please keep the level of intervention down.
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
Southern Hydro is another good example. We bought into an Australian wind farm development. Buying into it meant that we got a bulk deal on windmills for that development and for New Zealand. So we got our windmills a lot more cheaply than we would have. But, not withstanding that, for our $600 million investment we got a $1.4 billion return.
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
It was an asset sale, but a bloody wind farm in Australia is not a core asset of a New Zealand State-owned enterprise. If Gerry Brownlee is too thick to understand that, there is no hope for him.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. The Minister answered—inadequate as it was—only half the question. Could he answer the rest?
Hon Dr Michael Cullen Link to this
Opposition members insist on asking lots and lots of questions, but there is no requirement to answer more than one of them.