Privatisation by stealth – the John Key way

Prime Minister John Key’s promise that Genesis will be the last state asset sold off rings hollow given he is hell-bent on privatisation by stealth, Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins says.

“The Government is busy privatising facilities across the entire government sector.

“In education alone there are five charter schools opening this year and the Government is now taking applications for a second round of new privately run schools.

“The Government is also using the reconstruction of Christchurch schools as an excuse to privatise school facilities through the use of public-private-partnerships (PPPs). We know from the Hobsonville experience that school PPPs actually cost the taxpayer more money than if the Government built them using traditional methods.

“At the same time, other state sectors are being privatised. National has created a private prison at Mount Eden and a new private prison at Wiri is set to open next year. Both will be run by the controversial multinational corporation Serco.

“National is also privatising our roads. A PPP for Transmission Gully has become an endless vacuum for taxpayer funding.

“In the health sector private hospitals and clinics are being used for elective surgery because the public system lacks the capacity to address our growing health service needs.

“These are core duties of the state that National has been shifting responsibility for to the private sector.

 “Few Kiwis would believe the sale of Genesis spells the end of the privatisation of vital infrastructure,” Chris Hipkins says.

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