KiwiBank another privatisation by stealth – Robbing Fred to bribe Dagg to pay John

By
Martyn Bradbury
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33
22

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Here we go again.

Another privatisation of a State Asset to prop up charter schools, irrigation for failed dairy intensification and the barest infrastructure investment possible.

This time it’s KiwiBank, last time it was Meridian, Genesis and Mighty River Power. ACC and NZ Super fund buying this chunk of KiwiBank does little to reinvest in KiwiBank’s strengths and sets it up for tender.

We have KiwiBank not JUST because it provides competition for the bastard privacy-abusing-nark-for-the-cops Australian Banks, we have KiwiBank because it is impossible to operate in civil society without a bank account. Why the Sweet Zombie Jesus would we want to monopolise that necessity to Australia?

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Billions being sucked out of the NZ economy every year would be the outcome of privatising KiwiBank to foreign interests.

Once again Key is casually hocking off our public assets to raise funds because he has lowered the tax rates and is borrowing billions for tax cuts to the richest. In light of NZ now being a tax haven caused by Key doing nothing on foreign trusts despite warnings, flogging another bit of the country’s asset base off should have the nation in an uproar.

Key says this isn’t privatisation by stealth,  but then again he also claims NZ is NOT a tax haven for the rich despite NZ being mentioned 60,000 times in the Mossack Fonseca Panama Papers.

The Emperor isn’t just naked, he’s barefaced.

33 COMMENTS

  1. Bill English said in the Parliament today, he did not entertain any thoughts about “testing the market value” of Kiwi Bank, nor did he want to sell the bank.

    But on the other hand he was heard saying, that was yesterday or today, it is up to ACC and the Retirement Fund to make decisions about their investments.

    So yes, it may be happening, sooner or later, that Kiwi Bank may be on the block and for sale, but this time the government will in a cunning way say yet again, we did not do it, we cannot influence what independent departments or corporations do.

    Laissez faire, and the people out there, most of them, they seem not bothered, same as with the Panama Papers, it does not even get registered, as most do not even follow the main news on TV and radio anymore, they just tweet each other what is just the most hot topic on Twit’s Err and Fakebook.

    So much for informed democrats and democracy, we may as well bury it and get drunk or stoned, there is no point in trying anymore, as most do not give an arse’s shit anymore, that is what I notice every day.

  2. Yes the Emperor has been stark naked for many of us for a very long time. Wake up middle NZ, you are fools. Happy, ignorant, slaves. Getting your news from the TV with muppets for presenters. ( Sorry Muppets).

    Please don’t let the Panama papers be just another ponytail. Pin something to this crook.
    Keep it alive in the media. Splash it around whenever and where ever you can, challenge your comfortable friends over the Pinot. End apathy.

    Mr Key what do you think, a Knighthood for Mr Hager?

    • Yes, as I noted over on the Standard, The Panama papers are Key’s Achilles heel. We must do all we can to keep the issue on the front burner.

      I also posted the beginnings of a “conspiracy theory there:

      “First right of refusal . . . ” What exactly does that mean?

      As i understand it, if the Government of the day refuses to buy back the shares then they end up on the open market.

      1. The Key/English government will not be the government of the day five years from now.

      2. Five years from now, NZ and the world will probably be still in the midst of GFC2 , and therefore too cash-strapped to buy back the shares.

      I see the whole thing as Key hedging on GF2 being just around the corner and thus gambling on a flog-off of Kiwibank to private shareholders being highly likely if not inevitable. (And as a recently-retired PM he will be in a position to buy it up some of them if he so desires. . .)”

      While i concede that they are a bit of a waste of time, there is nevertheless a valid place for conspiracy theories. Where governments and other power-brokers work under a cloak of secrecy, they deserve everything that can be thrown at them by the public in my opinion.

      They can laugh all they like at the conspiracy theories, but mud tends to stick. So as long as they keep misleading the public and ‘negotiating on our behalf” from under a “cone of secrecy” then I say “Keep the conspiracy theories rolling.”

      If they don’t like it they can try governing from a position of openness and accountability for a change.

  3. I cannot understand why government departments and ministries don’t support Kiwibank. Why is that? Where is the loyalty?

  4. 100% right! They don’t care a fig for ordinary kiwis’ concerns. When did they ever on their ideological crusade?

  5. I cannot understand why government departments and ministries don’t support Kiwibank by having their accounts with it. Where is the loyalty?

  6. Sold the National Bank of NZ, BNZ and the Rural Bank for chickenfeed whose interests are these politican’s really working for ?

  7. I don’t understand the mentality of this National Government, banking is a profitable business, we destroyed/sold the National Bank of New Zealand, the Bank of New Zealand and the Rural Bank these were national assets and productive assets for shareholders and residents of New Zealand?

  8. I don’t understand the mentality of this National Government, banking is a profitable business, we destroyed/sold the National Bank of New Zealand, the Bank of New Zealand and the Rural Bank these were national assets and productive assets for shareholders and residents of New Zealand?

    • The mentality is to sell off anything and everything to those who can afford it, so they can squirrel it away in a Panamanian “blind trust” with 60,000 transactions in NZ.

      Money from earnings of state-owned assets have been used in the past within the country to fund social services, and to create a fair society. The 1-10% who own 99-90% of the wealth of the population.

      At the end of the day there will be private health, private chartered education, private jails, crowd-funded DOC and a low-waged, working poor economy.

      “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

      The neoliberal revolution was complete.

  9. Key is just addicted to selling everything we owned as a carpetbagger.

    So we will become “Tenants in our own land” remember that promise he said he never wanted us to be?

    He is nothing but a liar, a traitor, and dictator that will lead us to ruin and destitution and will be remembered in history as the “assassin of NZ’s future”.

  10. Since when did The Super Fund become the financing wing for the National Party? Reminds me a bit of Mudloon dipping into the Original Super Fund to fund Think Big Projects. Now there’s not even a pretense at political interference in superannuation funds. But it will be a chance for National to fund promised tax cuts shortly after the 2017 election – if they get back in.

    Another backroom deal – nudge – nudge – wink – wink – say – no – more- excuse – the – wart by National and anyone whose pre-name begins with “Sir”.

    I think I’ll withdraw my super funds and put them in a nice blind trust somewhere. Anyone know the email of the Panama outfit?

  11. It is always the Labour governments that create and construct the NZ economy, just for the National Governments to come along and destruct.

    They, (National) do not have a bright idea in their collective brain, apart from selling whatever they think will raise enough revenue to give tax breaks to their mates.

    No hopers, the lot of them.

  12. I fully expect Key to stick to the guarantee that those assets will not be privatised for 5 years.

    If National is still in power at that time though, you know they’re going to be looking at privatization ASAP.

  14. Charter Schools – mostly about profit and good sound investments for huge corporations with horrific testing and encouraging fear and unhealthy competition and eliminating some very good teachers and other good things in the public school system.
    Charter Schools are not what many think and are not the totally good thing for all. In deed they are a good investment and mostly about profiteering from the education system but they are not serving the teachers and the students as well as they could. Same goes for the privatized prisons and health care systems. Mostly for profit and not in everyone’s best interest or well-being.

    Fear mongering tests, pressuring teachers, councils taking over and making decisions and the kids are the ones who loose out but the wealthy get richer.

    And now Key is privatizing The Kiwi Bank as he sells us further down the river while making huge profits for his wealthy corporate buddies. Wake up voters.

    Should we not be thoroughly investigating this Panama Paper issue with full force and is this not grounds to get rid of a few criminal politicians who keep secrets and lie and do not serve their constituents. The people and the environment’s well being are paramount and not these corporate lobbyists etc. and their profits, who are making our laws and stealing our country with our PM ‘s blessing and permission.

    Again wake up all you Natz loving supporters and smell the reality cuz it stinks bad about now. How can you all continue to back and support a PM like we are so unfortunate to have now ? Are you asleep or just not informed or both ?

    http://russonreading.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/five-ways-charter-schools-are-bad-for.html

    https://yinzercation.wordpress.com/2014/05/02/12-problems-with-charter-schools/

    http://isreview.org/issue/71/case-against-charter-schools

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