Petition on asset sales too little too late
NEW ZEALANDERS will get their say on the Government’s plan to sell off state-owned assets. The question is when and then, so what?
A petition last week reached the threshold of 300,000 signatures needed to force a referendum. Since April, a coalition including Grey Power, the Council of Trade Unions, the Green Party and Labour have been collecting signatures. They needed 10 per cent of all registered voters, or approximately 310,000 people, to sign in order to force a referendum.
The group said it had collected more than 340,000 signatures, allowing for some that will not meet the requirements under the Citizen Initiated Referendum Act.
The petition asked if people wanted a referendum on the question, ‘‘Do you support the Government selling up to 49 per cent of Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Genesis Power, Solid Energy and Air New Zealand?’’
The petition will be presented to Parliament when it opens at the end of the month. And then?
Labour leader David Shearer and Greens co-leader Russel Norman have both previously said a referendum would be possible before the asset sales start but the Government is under no obligation to hold the referendum this year as it has a year to decide when the referendum takes place. So it’s almost certain the vote would too late to stop some, if not all the sales.
Plus, on top of that, the Government doesn’t have to listen anyway, as the referendum is non-binding.
Despite this, both opposition leaders have intimated that the 300,000-plus signatures put real acid on the Government
‘‘Any Government that ignores public opinion, ignores it at its peril,’’ Shearer said when spruiking the petition late last year.
Labour MP Chris Hipkins added that he hoped the referendum would be held as soon as possible. ‘‘New Zealanders should be given a chance to have a say before the Government goes ahead.’’
One of the petition’s organisers, Grey Power national president Roy Reid, said the collection of 340,000 signatures ‘‘will demonstrate to the Government that they can’t sell the government’s assets – they belong to the people of New Zealand’’.
Unfortunately for Labour, Greens and Grey Power, New Zealanders have already had their say – in the form of the voting at the last election in November 2011.
Asset sales were firmly part of the 2011 election agenda and New Zealanders had a chance to hit the Government hard on one of National’s key platforms – and didn’t.
Instead, John Key’s Government was returned to power with a handsome level of support, which suggested it was justified in continuing with its plans to sell assets.
It has ridden out subsequent hiccups over Mighty River Power by seeing off the Maori Council’s court action over water rights but still has problems with the value of Solid Energy and Meridian Energy.
The efforts or Reid, Shearer, Norman and company are laudable, but where was this level of engagement and drive when it was really needed – pre-election 2011? It’s too little, too late and too ineffectual.
John Key and Bill English will laugh off this petition and press on with the mandate they were given at the 2011 election.
As for supporters of the referendum . . . they should make sure they get out to vote in 2014 and drag along like-minded friends and colleagues to make sure the voter turn-out from the left is high enough to have an impact. If not it’s no use rallying the troops when it doesn’t matter.
Asset sales were firmly part of the 2011 election agenda and New Zealanders had a chance to hit the Government hard on one of National’s key platforms – and didn’t.