Yesterday marked the end of hearings on the government’s disgraceful Mixed Ownership Model Bill.
Astoundingly we were told that Treasury officials had already written their report, before all submissions were heard. It proves that the deal has been preordained and that the government doesn’t give a damn what people think. This is totally reprehensible.
National have treated submitters with contempt, in most cases only giving people a few minutes to submit and one question from the committee. Maybe it’s because they have only heard one submission in favour of their main plan for the economy.
Bereft of any principled ideas or integrity, its members like Maggie Barry have taken to bullying and intimidating submitters – even trying to force submitters to disclose who they voted for at the last election.
Everyone has the right to submit to Parliament and MPs irrespective of who they voted for. They don’t need to be bullied by Maggie Barry. That’s democracy.
The mask hiding the National Party’s typical disdain for democracy has once again slipped. They’ve made a mockery of the select committee process, the submitters and the issue that close to 80% of people oppose. The government should be ashamed.
It never had any intention of listening. Because they know that people resolutely oppose the sale. Instead they’ve had to resort to bullying members of the public who dare to speak out.
Radio New Zealand covered it very well this morning. Have a listen…
Democracy is very important Clayton. We had an election a few months ago when your party campaigned against the government’s mixed ownership model, which they set out and put before the electorate. How did that election go for you guys again? What happened in your seat? It hasn’t been so long ago but my memory fails me on this. Is it failing you too?
Personally I think elections are a better show of democracy than select committee submission processes jacked up by the Labour Party and its friends.
It hasn’t been so long ago but my memory fails me on this.
I’ll help you out whodunnit. The NAct government nearly lost the election. That’s why Key has to hang on to the discredited John Banks for as long as possible cos without him they can’t get all their legislation through parliament.
I suppose they could always abolish parliament altogether which isn’t all that absurd given their track record thus far.
Tell us who the one submission in favour came from… was it a “Mum and Dad investor”?
Don’t knock the
SOE fire saleMMO man, with the $260 million they raise, after consultants and PR fees are deducted, we should be able to buy up to 10 – 20 houses on Paritai Drive.Nice rewriting of history, Tracey. For the record at the last election National got its highest ever party vote under MMP while campaigning for the mixed ownership model, Labour got its lowest Party Vote while campaigning against it, and Clayton lost his seat.
“Nice rewriting of history, Tracey.”
Nice frontal lobotomy, Whodunnit.
“National got its highest ever party vote under MMP”
Yet still needs the bent, homophobe, racist mp, gifted his seat by the pm over a cup of tea to form a government.
Left block beat right block, and under mmp or any system of your chosing, that’s how majority really works – Not because of dullards in Epson who need to be told who to vote for.
“Labour got its lowest Party Vote”
Yet polls consistently show over 60% support for not selling assets. Even national’s own voters don’t agree over the tacticly stupid sell off.
“Clayton lost his seat.”
And yet here he is, doing important work on behalf of his community, serving his country according to his conscience, trying to make a difference in the real world, every day.
I’m quite content to play the ball, the man, his team mates and ‘all’ his ‘fans’ in the stand. It is afterall the nature of the game.
I’m guessing, and I’m usually not often wrong, you’d take your ball home after the first ankle warmer or elbow in the back – Typical nat stooge.
Of course it is undemocaratic; no analysis I have seen has shown the assest sales to make sense economically or finacially. SO why do it, ideology – starve the beast – that old Reagan neolib stratagey. Reduce other Government income streams, choking the government of funds and reducing the size.
I’d like to hear Labour or the greens say they will renationalise the assests. Make it policy scare off forgien buyers, Bolivia have nationalised a couple of power generation companies in last couple of months. The earth hasn’t opened up and swallowed them.
Insanity selling these State Assets they are producing strong economic returns for the State, obviously John Key is committed to this agenda.
@whodunnit – Clayton lost his seat. Labour lost the election. National campaigned on asset sales and won. Labour campaigned against it and lost. Mandate.
@ Dave
@ Dave and whodunnit, sorry but Key failed to get a majority which in a democracy is 50% plus one voter. That gives you a mandate. He gets this stuff. It’s why he wants to keep 51% of the voting shares in the ‘fire sale’. He knows that 47.31% doesn’t cut it. But you folks obviously think he is wrong?
correct me if my impression is wrong, but are the “arguments’ put up by the ever more desperate, and shrinking pool of tory apologists getting more trite and senseless by the day?
i’ve seen this in action during political discussions over the years… as soon as the weight of reality starts to impact on credibility, the apologist will rapidly resort to shrill sloganeering… followed by personal abuse…
anyone else seeing the similarity with what we are being treated to by those same apologists on here now?
Democracy isn’t choosing dictators every three years but having a say all the time.
I have a suggestion, Clayton. If the Labour Party is sincere about the value (not just monetary) of the assets to future generations, and I don’t doubt they are, why don’t you announce a Policy now, that clearly states the intention of a future Labour Government to nationalize the assets as soon as it assumes the treasury benches. Not a good investment then, is it?
passatore , Key doesnt dare sell all the shares, they say they are retaining 51%.
Of course companies can buy back shares any time, and do. before long only 25% would be in private hands if that was policy