How much would share give-away cost taxpayers?

It's past time for National to come clean on the cost of its planned give-away of shares in our energy companies, Green Party Co-leader Russel Norman said today.

Dr Norman was responding to confirmation that the National Government plans to offer free 'bonus' shares to the small percentage of New Zealanders who are expected to buy shares in the energy companies. The Prime Minister has hinted this morning that it could be one free share for every ten bought.

"It's time for John Key to tell New Zealanders how much it would cost us to subsidise the few who would buy shares", said Dr Norman.

"If Mr Key is right and the majority of these shares would be bought by retail investors, then the potential cost of a share give-away is in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars.

"If only a third of the shares were bought by retail investors and there was one free share for every ten bought, then that's a $200 million liability for the taxpayer.

"That would be a $200 million subsidy from the vast bulk of New Zealanders to the roughly 5% of the population that the Government expects to buy shares directly.

"The rich get the subsidy, and everyone else gets to pay.

"This morning, Mr Key didn't even know if bonus schemes succeed in stopping retail investors selling their shares.

"He should do some research to the expensive failure of the bonus scheme in Queensland's QR National privatisation before signing away so much taxpayer money," said Dr Norman.

In the Budget, the Government has asked Parliament for $56 million for 'direct sales costs' - which is meant to subsidise brokers' fees and pay other costs - and $46.8 million for policy work, advertising, and other middlemen. It made no mention of a share give-away.

"The $103 million cost to sell our assets is already staggering, and the cost of a share give-away could be much more," said Dr Norman.

"National needs to explain where it claims the authority to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a share give-away.

"The Budget makes no mention of this very large expenditure and it can't fit within the asset sales multi-year appropriations in Vote Finance.

"This is a Government that is making it up as it goes along and flittering away a fortune in taxpayers' money to subsidise rich people's investments," said Dr Norman.