David CUNLIFFE

ICT Spokesperson

1 October  2013  MEDIA STATEMENT

Evidence mounts Chorus bail out costs consumer

A new analysis of the Government’s ‘copper tax’ shows consumers will be paying hundreds of millions in corporate welfare to subside Chorus, Labour’s ICT spokesperson David Cunliffe says.

“John Key said Covec's copper tax report was ‘fundamentally flawed’. That’s because it found Kiwi households will lose out by hundreds of millions of dollars and that money will go to Chorus shareholders.

“But now a peer review by Network Strategies has found Covec’s approach was ‘sound’ and it had under-estimated the size of the financial transfer to Chorus.

“Network Strategies estimates taxpayers and consumer will have to pay even more to Chorus to enable it to complete its roll-out of ultra-fast broadband.

“It will be foolhardy for John Key to dismiss yet another independent report.

“The facts stack up. The copper tax is yet another example of the Government’s crony capitalism. John Key is out of touch. Kiwi families know a raw deal when they see one. 

“Chorus posted a $171 million profit this year. It doesn’t need a corporate hand-out courtesy of the New Zealand taxpayer.
“The majority of Kiwi households using copper broadband services will have no choice but to pay more than they should, despite the Commerce Commission recommending their charges be cut by $12 a month,” David Cunliffe says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

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