New Zealand First Policy to Sell Kiwibank Shares
Winston Peters says Bank will not be put into Overseas Hands
Oct 21, 2008
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters says New Zealand First is not selling off Kiwibank but is suggesting a partial float of shares that can only be sold to Kiwibank customers who are New Zealanders, with the Government maintaining a 75.1% stake. Mr Peters received fierce criticism after announcing his party’s policy to sell off shares in the government owned bank.
Jim Anderton Critical of Plan
The MP who pushed to set up the New Zealand owned bank, Progressive Leader Jim Anderton, says Kiwibank isn’t broken so it doesn’t need fixing. "The bank has attracted nearly 700,000 customers – still at the rate of 2000 new ones every week. It’s worth half a billion dollars. It’s successful because it’s ours. Why would you say you want to sell shares in the bank to New Zealanders when we already own it?”
But Mr Peters says the float of shares will ensure that Kiwibank will have the capital it needs to expand its capacity to deal with being the Government’s banker and remove its apron strings from New Zealand Post. He would like all the Government’s business to go through the bank.
Green Party Against Sale of Kiwibank
The Green party who have equally slammed the idea of selling shares in Kiwibank says it agrees with directing more Government banking business to KiwiBank but not if it is sold off to the highest bidder. “John Key and the overseas-owned banks must be rubbing their hands with glee at the opportunity to get their hands on ‘our bank,’” says party Co-Leader Russel Norman.“Mr Peters’ suggestion is exposed as all the more absurd by his failure to make clear what he hopes to achieve by privatising Kiwi Bank. “What would he do with the additional funds raised?”
New Zealand First Defence of Proposal to Sell
Shares
Mr Peter’s defends the proposal by saying Kiwibank does not have the capacity to take on the Australian banks – to do this it must expand and the best way to achieve this is to give the 600,000 Kiwibank customers the opportunity to invest and help expand their bank. “New Zealand First has no intention of seeing Kiwibank fall into foreign hands, but we do think it is time for the bank to take the next big step.”
This argument does not convince Jim Anderton who says NZ First previously promised to restrict share ownership to New Zealanders when it sold Auckland Airport. As Treasurer Winston Peters announced ordinary ‘mums and dads’ would own the airport. "But it went offshore as fast as a wide bodied jet.”
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