Get Out Of SOEs, Not Further In

Tuesday 8 Jun 2004

The Labour Government's signalling of its intention to place a tighter rein on State-Owned Enterprises will send shockwaves through the entire economy, ACT New Zealand Deputy Leader Ken Shirley said today.

"Removing politics from business was a core reason for establishing the SOE's almost 20 years ago," Mr Shirley said.

"History teaches us that governments should never try to pick winners in commerce - because, inevitably, they get it wrong. They always place political agendas ahead of market signals, and the taxpayer bears the brunt.

"Of particular concern would be Labour's increased interference in the energy sector. Rather than increasing its control over these SOE's, the Government should be doing the opposite and looking for private investors to displace Government stakeholding.

"Our energy sector is suffering from too much government and not enough market. This trend from the Labour Government is a recipe for the nationalisation of key commercial assets," Mr Shirley said.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>