Headline: Cost of National’s asset sales blows-out to over $250 million
In the coming referendum, Kiwis will have their chance to tell John Key to stop wasting our money and ditch his failed asset sales agenda by voting ‘No’
New figures put the total cost of National’s asset sales at over $250 million, more than triple the projected cost, Green Party energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes said today.
The Government has released figures showing that Treasury and the companies National is selling had spent a combined $70 million on the asset sales process by September 30 2013, an increase of $11 million in three months. These figures do not include the “direct sales costs” of Meridian Energy (eg brokers’ fees) that were incurred after the cut-off date. Those “direct sales costs” were $22 million for the Mighty River Power sale and are estimated at around $25 million for Meridian.
Treasury’s tally also does not include the costs of the Mighty River bonus shares ($25 million), the Meridian ‘buy now, pay later’ scheme ($42 million), the Rio Tinto pay-off ($30 million), the foregone dividend from Mighty River Power ($49 million) and other associated costs exceeding $10 million. The total cost of the asset sales to date, therefore, stands at over $250 million.
“National has wasted quarter of a billion dollars on asset sales that Kiwis don’t want and New Zealand doesn’t need,” said Mr Hughes.
“An army of consultants, lawyers, brokers, and advertisers have been making a mint from National’s prolific spending on its failed asset sales, and it’s ordinary Kiwis paying the price.
“National promised that the asset sales wouldn’t cost more than 2% of the sales revenue but they’ve gone more than three times over budget.
“Not only is the cost of these sales rising at an alarming rate, the asset sales have also failed to raise as much revenue as National promised and failed to attract widespread public ownership.
“The quarter of a billion dollars that National has wasted on its failed asset sales could have been used to invest in jobs, education, health, and our environment. Instead, National has thrown $250 million away on an ideological privatisation agenda.
“If National continues throwing away more taxpayers’ money by pushing ahead with more asset sales, it can only be out of bloody-mindedness, not for any rational economic reason.
“In the coming referendum, Kiwis will have their chance to tell John Key to stop wasting our money and ditch his failed asset sales agenda by voting ‘No’,” said Mr Hughes.
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