"Proud that my one-year-old daughter is set to become a MRP shareholder! Will pay for her university one day. Why would they be trying to stop that?"
Featured commentA petition for a referendum on state asset sales has failed to garner enough signatures after double entries were weeded out and Labour has vowed to try to fill the gap over the next two months.
The petition – promoted by Labour, the Greens and Grey Power – required 10 percent of eligible voters, or 308,753 signatures, to force a referendum. It only reached about 292,000, or 16,500 fewer than was needed, the Office of the Clerk said today.
Some signatures were not from enrolled voters and others appeared more than once, the statement from clerk Mary Harris says. The promoters have two months to make up the shortfall.
The petition was delivered on March 12 and Ms Harris today certified that it had lapsed.
It was for a referendum asking whether the government had public support to sell up to 49 percent of MightyRiverPower, Meridian Energy, Genesis Power, Solid Energy and Air New Zealand.
Labour will "redouble its efforts" to drum up enough signatures, party SOE spokesperson Clayton Cosgrove says.
He defended the ineligible signatures, saying it is not unusual to have signatures ruled out because people are not enrolled or have filled in their details incorrectly.
"We are confident that the large number of Kiwis opposed means we can gather the necessary signatures in the next two months to ensure the petition succeeds," he says.
Shares of Mighty River Power are due to start trading on the NZX on Friday after the price is set via the institutional part of the sale.
Market participants say the shares are likely to be sold at the lower end of the indicative range after Labour and the Greens said they would regulate the electricity market and impose a central purchasing agency.
(BusinessDesk)
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Comments and questions28
L&G collected an additional "spare" 83,000 or so signatures, but were still 16,500 signatures short?
There's a huge message there for L&G if they can decipher it.
Is this the biggest ever political own goal in all of NZ's political history? Or is that dubious honour still L&G financial sabotage upon all of NZ?
Nats gave $2b a year in tax cuts to upper income earners. They then said there isn't enough money so we have to sell the assets. And who could afford to buy the shares? Those who National just gave big tax cuts to. On top of that, the Nats spent around $100m on the MRP privatisation process. And only 100,000 or so New Zealanders bought shares, or about $1000 per investor. So they forced 100% of NZers to pay to give away the company to 2.5% of NZers. They are the Govt of the two percent for the two percent.
Labour, Greens, take the hint!
The National government has a mandate from the people of New Zealand to sell these assets. Get over it.
But they don't have a mandate, you fool. By any measure 36% of eligible voters voting national is not a mandate. For you simpletons, that means that 64% of eligible voters did not support national. Simple. Have a referendum or are you scared your bubble of self-deception will pop and you will be faced with the truth? True democracy is not being served by this National government of dirt and division.
L&G collected 292,000 signatures. The govt had about 400,000 people registering their interest in the shares - of which only about 100,000 people actually applied for the shares. With 16,500 signatures left and 2 months to get them, L&G can still do it. What happens to the sale of shares then?
If by some fluke the signatures were finally established in the next two months. Next election there would maybe be a non-binding referenda. Seems the Green and Labour parties are quite happy to throw taxpayer money around with gay abandon, even though they will get a silver medal. That means they lost. Perhaps they should have to pay out of the $200,000 each they get per annum for spreading dissension.
Nothing happens to the sale of the shares of MRP.
First, the petition requests an indicative referendum not a binding referendum. It doesn't specifically request a roll back and the horse will have well and truly bolted by the time L&G actually ever get the required amount of signatures.
Second, the petition requests "Do you support the government selling up to 49% of Meridian...Mighty River...Genesis... Solid Energy and Air New Zealand?" I have to say that the question was probably designed by a committee because it is so vague. Do respondents oppose one, a few or several of the proposed sales if they answer no? Personally, I don't support the government selling Solid Energy at present because it's such a basket case they'd be better off sorting it to actually get a bid on it instead of writing a cheque to someone to take it off them.
Finally, since the shares will have been issued then any government would have to buy them back. There are a number of protections for minority shareholders from being 'oppressed' by a majority shareholder and if 10% of shareholders don't sell then they can't make a compulsory acquisition.
Unless of course, a government would attempt to nationalise the company by legislation. History is full of governments which attempted to nationalise privately-owned assets. If taxation is legalised theft then nationalising privately owned assets by legislation is essentially confiscation ... and there's a whole industry built around compensating folk from illegal confiscation.
Not surprising - I managed to sign the petition 15 times using various names and addresses. Not one of the paid liebour/watermelon flunkies even checked the form when I signed it....idiots !
That was honest of you.
Wonder what the cost is to NZ taxpayer, forced on them from mostly unelected list MPs including the guy known as "Clayton". What a web they weaved when they set out to deceive. The mandate given to National at the 2011 election. Rumour says an exercise in futility by Greens and the other minor party cost $91,000+.
Labour and Greens you lost again, we won again,eat that.
Just proves again what a tremendous effort it was for those “citizens” who forced a referendum on the undemocratic and unnecessary anti-smacking law. They did it without taxpayer money and without the organization of political parties, and they didn’t exceed the spending limit.
If L&G can be so starkly mistaken when they thought they were so, so right on so many levels... Just how accurate is that $220-330 per annum saving on your electricity bill likely to be?
Their petition is sub basic, anyway. The more important question should be: should govt own businesses?
Govt owns businesses and it passes regulations to minimise entry into the marketplace. Is this not conflict of interest? Is this not Mafia tactics? I repeat again. The govt owns businesses and passes regulations to limit competition.
L&G can forget the idea that the people own the power companies and that selling them is robbing people of their public assets.
If the power companies truly belong to the people then I would expect every taxpayer to receive a cheque in the post within two months of the end of the financial year for a dividend.
L&G have no more interest in giving back profits from Mighty River to the people. Any govt that did mail out an annual cheque would actually respect the average voter, and such a govt would also be hell bent on minimising the overhead cost of govt on the people. Such a govt would be cutting tax take and govt spending and keeping out of people's lives..
Have L&G ever done that? No! They increase expenditure and meddle in moral issues that have nothing to do with govt.
The power companies are a liability. They keep power prices high. Sell them off and end the conflict of interest by shredding the regulations that prevent competition in the power industry.
1,000,000 voters voted in a government on the basis of asset sales and that should be the end of the matter - not L and G whining
What complete useless muppets. Proud that my one-year-old daughter is set to become a MRP shareholder! Will pay for her university one day. Why would they be trying to stop that?
Why? Because of spite, envy, cynicism and their lack of alternatives...
They're wreckers and haters... and only ever attempt to tear down, never build up... unless it's a bloated government bureaucracy we're talking about...
Doesn't one have to be aged 18 or over to own shares?
Hope your daughter can fund the rights issue in three years as they require a capital injection!
Contact is hands down a better investment
Why would they be trying to stop it? So the government can help pay for their little girls university education with SOE dividends because they can't. Who misses out? The children of the poor.
It's a shame polling results at election time do not undergo the same scrutiny as this petition.
Are you for real? You obviously have little understanding of the vote counting process. Unless you mean the random polls taken prior to the election.
Surely, you are not suggesting the last election was rigged. Goodness, look behind the door I am sure you will find someone standing there. Heck the how do you sleep at night when so much is running around in your brain?
While many focus on the $90k odd that the Greens spent on garnering the signatures, think of the additional cost to the taxpaper from the Office of The Clerk, having to wade through all the signatures, for what? Nothing.
If selling assets (which taxpayer has already paid for) was to reduce debt then fine, but we are selling assets to pay interest costs - debt is rising and we don't have enough asstes to sell. The government must change its course and get rid of debt (they pretent to be doing so).
Sorry, but you're incorrect. All the net revenues from these share divestments have (by law) been completely "ring fenced", to be used only for addition asset purchases. Greens & Labour are deliberately failing to promote the truth around this.
L&G are hell bent on gaining the Treasury benches at any cost, and their policy release at 1 minute to midnight was financial sabotage against the whole country, irrespective of what party you belong to. So arrogant and power hungry that their eyes misted over when gathering signatures. It can be likened to lust - all reasoning went out the window in pursuit of the climax.
Well they appear to have had a premature election, and lost all credibility in the process.
And in response to "shame post #12", how true, and what other polling results have L&G's team put to the public over their last term? It beggars belief. But, as many have said, power corrupts, and total power corrupts totally. L&G want power be warned.
Asset sales by a minority government is the economic sabotage. They sold this asset to pay for the tax cuts to the rich.