Energy subsidiaries vulnerable to 100% privatisation under National's plans
The Green Party today released a comprehensive list of all the current subsidiaries owned by Genesis, Meridian, Solid Energy, and Mighty River Power that could easily be sold into 100 percent private ownership under National's plans for partial privatisation.
The list details 93 individual subsidiaries of the state-owned energy companies, many holding significant energy generating assets.
"Large parts of Genesis, Meridian, Solid Energy, and Mighty River Power can be sold off into 100 percent private ownership under the National Government's plans for partial privatisation," said Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman.
"The lack of protection over the full sale of SOE subsidiaries is an invitation for the SOEs to asset strip.
"John Key has repeatedly reassured New Zealanders that only 49 percent of the SOEs will be sold. But there's nothing in their Bill to stop the partially privatised companies selling their subsidiaries.
"So, while the SOEs might 'only' be 49 percent sold, the real assets, the power plants, could be fully sold off."
The Chairman of Solid Energy, John Palmer, earlier publicly confirmed that the proposed legislation would allow him to sell the coal miner's subsidiaries after partial privatisation.
"There would be enormous pressure from some private investors to generate quick returns by selling these subsidiaries. The directors of the privatised SOEs would be legally obliged to act in the best interests of the company and the best interests of the minority shareholders, even if the Crown retains majority ownership," said Dr Norman.
"Some private investors could make the case that the best interest would be met by selling the assets as John Palmer has already floated.
"This is an invitation to the kind of asset stripping we saw from privatised state-owned enterprises in the 1980s and 1990s."
The Green Party's alternative plan for New Zealand's publicly-owned energy companies is to keep them in public ownership and refocus their predominantly domestic operations towards booming renewable energy export markets abroad. Securing a one percent stake in this global market would create a $6-8 billion export industry here at home.
"We can create tens of thousands of new, clean technology jobs in New Zealand if we're smart about how we manage our state assets," Dr Norman said.
Link to list of subsidiary companies:
http://www.greens.org.nz/misc-documents/energy-soe-subsidiaries
The Green Party's alternative plan for our energy SOEs:
http://www.greens.org.nz/greenjobs