National wasting time and money | The Jackal

13 Mar 2013

National wasting time and money

Today, the NZ Herald reported:

Labour leader David Shearer won't rule out supporting Winston Peters' policy of buying back Mighty River Power shares at cost if they form the next Government.

Mr Peters said he would be happy for a Government of which he was a part to borrow or to use the superannuation fund to buy back shares at no more than cost.

I think that's the right position to take, being that it won't be until a Labour led coalition government get their hands on the books that there will be a clear indication about whether a buy-back is achievable.

Acting Prime Minister Bill English told Parliament the 290,000 people who had pre-registered for the float of Mighty River Power over a week compared favourably with the numbers who signed the petition "achieved in a year with paid parliamentary staff bailing up school children".

I find it somewhat concerning that Bill English is dismissing the signatures of young people, being that anyone of any age can sign and petition the House of Representatives. Is he ageist?

Despite what the idiotic Minister of Finance seems to believe, there is no age limit, and being that it's young people who will be most affected by the sales, their opinions should matter just as much as anybody else's, if not more so.

National has spent a million dollars on unnecessary advertising for the Mighty River Power float, which makes them total hypocrites! In fact they plan to spend over $106.3 million of taxpayers money on selling assets the majority of the public don't want sold.

National is trying to compare apples with oranges here, when we're still awaiting the outcome of the all-important referendum... Only that can give a clear answer concerning a mandate to sell our most profitable assets.

In the mean time any sales are simply wasting more time and money, which is about the only things National seems good at doing.