Govt delays asset sales

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Govt delays asset sales

3News NZ

Prime Minister John Key (file)

Prime Minister John Key (file)

By Political Editor Duncan Garner

The Government has officially delayed its asset sales programme until next year.

John Key confirmed the news at his post-Cabinet news conference this afternoon.

It was due to sell Mighty River Power by November this year, but has officially pulled the plug. It now hopes to sell the power generator in March next year.

“We see no reason why Mighty River Power will not be sold in March/April,” he said this afternoon.

The decision comes after a Waitangi Tribunal report called on the Government to delay the sale and have more dialogue with Maori organisations and wider iwi about the implications of the asset sales.

“Maori do have rights and interests in water and these will be addressed iwi by iwi,” said Mr Key.

After receiving legal advice, the Government has decided to hold a month of talks with Maori about how best to proceed with the sales.

It means the Government has effectively run out of time to sell the first power generator this year.

The tribunal suggested a "shares-plus" approach, where Maori would not only get shares in the companies, but more decision making around the table of these companies and perhaps a larger slice of the profits.

But the Government decided that was unworkable and not acceptable, so it's back to the drawing board.

For many Maori, this will be seen as a significant victory and a major backdown from the Government, which had initially stated it could ignore the tribunal's findings and push ahead.

The Government says it's not a backdown and it's the right thing to do in the face of huge uncertainty.

Cabinet sources have told 3 News that the Maori Council may still decide to go to court in the New Year anyway to seek an injunction to the sales - no matter if a deal with iwi is successfully completed.

3 News

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Comments

7/09/2012 7:17:50 p.m.

Isaac wrote:

Another round of asset sales.

To be honest i used to beleive it had some merits and it wasn't untill i watched the zeitgeist documentarys that i fully understood what financial meconisims are in play. This is not a rail system or a bus service that we can boycott if the fee becomes too expensive, this is WATER and ENERGY things that we cant boycott and the government is under pressure to sell from the WTO and IMF. The corperations are well aware of its profit potential and who pays, we do.

7/09/2012 8:15:35 a.m.

lydia wrote:

Um!that paul sounds like donkey the pm of nz we dont have anything in this country but donkey and paul can sell off the country to other people, and pauls grandchildren to cum wont have a thing to look forward to in the future we need to be one in this country put donkey in the shed to watch the grass grow through a window of prison bars

6/09/2012 4:22:32 p.m.

PHIL wrote:

dont give in to the greedy maoris wanting everytyhing-water -wind if you do you lose election they just wantb cash cow all time, no worry about economy or genreal tax payers

4/09/2012 10:10:55 p.m.

Paul wrote:

short and sharp :" Well done Maori "

4/09/2012 5:28:33 p.m.

David wrote:

Race haters are such a waste of time... its part of the reason that I have absolutely no time for the National Party. yes Key has stalled the sales Dan.... but you can be assured that the nasty little man will be working with lawyers behind the scene over the next few months wasting hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars on finding a legal hole that will allow him an out. National is a redneck party... if Key capitulates to Maori he will lose some of his core support and he cant afford that... not when polls show that he has no coalition partners that will make it through the next electoral cycle with him and his numbers keep moving up and down. To lose any of his core redneck supporters.... Key will ensure that Maori get screwed in some manner. Personally I hope Maori work on uniting their own vote... they make up 15 percent of the population... the Maori party only ever garners around 2 percent of this which shows how unsupported Tarrianna and Pita are amoungst their own people. But as Key was looking to divide up water rights amoungst private enterprise... its obvious that when he says water rights cant be owned... he is lieing. TV3 released a story in April showing that National were looking at water ownership... however that was primarily for private enterpirses that Key owes favors too. Cant trust Key.... thats the biggest issue here. Stalling is merely a tactic... I dont think it will be of much benefit to Maori... which is sad. They are the only group with any intergrity that is trying to stop these stupid sales. Sales which arent even going towards paying down the 60-70 Billion dollars that Key has had to borrow in the last few years. Debt that didnt exist when he first took power. And money he has already ear marked for his mates... consultants fees and fixing water issues created by farmers will swallow up around 15-20 percent of the asset sales proceeds Bigots always talk about taking matters into their own hands though, nothing new there

4/09/2012 11:31:03 a.m.

Moera wrote:

Well done Maori. Keep going and take the fight right to Key's doorstep. This is a significant victory not only for Maori but NZers in general. State owned assets stay NZ owned. They've effectively halted the sale for now. It'll be interesting to see the outcome of govt negotiations. I would hope that Iwi remain as a 'united' front and negotiate as such.

3/09/2012 11:34:53 p.m.

Sick of this all wrote:

Omg I've had enough of this.. For one, we're all New Zealanders, it's not about skin color for one I'm white as white and I'm part maori, yet I'm not considered one, not that I care I'm a New Zealander, NZ is my culture, Pretty much all of New Zealanders are against asset sales, regardless of race. John Key has gone too far, and I'm pretty sure we all agree we need a prime minister who will fight for what this country needs, not to give the richer more and take away from the poorer, but to give us some equality! Make living more affordable.. There are better ways to go about this.

3/09/2012 10:43:31 p.m.

Dan wrote:

@MELA, wake up will you. Do you really think that the majority of non maori (and probably a few forward thinking maori) are going to let this go much further? Its getting to the point that the general public have begun hushed wispers of taking matters into their own hands. Just standing at the checkout yesterday I overheard a couple in the aisle next to me discussing the headlines in the paper regarding the latest ridiculous claim, within minutes the whole line of a dozen complete stangers was discussing the possibility of taking forced action should it continue. The overall majority of the public need to stand up and put both John Key and the Maori seperatists back in their box.

3/09/2012 8:49:15 p.m.

ollson wrote:

this is a joke

3/09/2012 8:38:50 p.m.

Rob wrote:

"for many Maori this will be seen as significant victory"? For most NEW ZEALANDERS this IS a significant victory. John key has screwed it up........again.