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Couldn't get a worse time than this to sell Air New Zealand

Friday, 24 February 2012, 12:14 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

Clayton Cosgrove
Spokesperson for SOEs

24 February 2012

No time a good time to sell SOE, but you couldn’t get a worse time than this

There’s no good time to sell a state asset like Air New Zealand, but there couldn’t be a worse time than when it has just announced its profitability has fallen dramatically, says Labour’s SOEs spokesperson Clayton Cosgrove.

“The overwhelming majority of Kiwis are saying that no time is a good time to sell off our prized assets, because once they’re sold, we’ll never get them back again,” Clayton Cosgrove said.

“But in the case of Air New Zealand, which has just announced that its profits have fallen 70 per cent for the six months ended 31 December, you couldn’t possibly pick a worse time.

“It’s a bit like putting a corner dairy on the market when it is not doing well,” Clayton Cosgrove said. “The only time you would want to sell was when things are going gang-busters, but Kiwis don’t want our SOEs sold even in those circumstances.

“The problem is that National sees things differently to most Kiwis. Its only motivation is trying to make a quick dollar because it’s got no other plan to get the country’s economy ticking over again.

“National is all over the place in terms of asset sales,” Clayton Cosgrove said.

“It used to talk about making best guesses in terms of what it would get for our precious assets.

“Now it is simply putting its finger in the air and hoping,” Clayton Cosgrove said.

ENDS

 
 
 
 
 
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