Clark and Anderton Must Take Responsibility for Kiwibank

Wednesday 30 Jan 2002 Rodney Hide Press Releases -- Economy

ACT Finance Spokesman Rodney Hide said today that the latest revelations concerning Kiwibank's roll out meant Prime Minister Helen Clark and Kiwibank promoter Jim Anderton must sort out the mess.

"South Island franchises have banded together to show NZ Post they are unhappy with Kiwibank's offer and have united to negotiate a fair deal.

"A memo has been sent to all NZ Post franchise holders in the South Island, excluding Books & More. Of the 38, nineteen have so far responded declaring they do not accept NZ Post's deal.

"There are eleven Books & More franchises in the South Island. I am reliably informed that only three will accept Kiwibank's offer.

"NZ Post has tried to bully the franchise holders and to apply PR spin to deny there is a problem.

"NZ Post claims there are only one or two franchise holders who are disgruntled. That is not true, as this memo shows.

"The problem is that the fifty-three cent fee per transaction that NZ Post says is not negotiable. At this fee, the franchises believe they will lose thousands each out of the deal, even if NZ Post reaches its rosy forecast of customer numbers.

"Banking sources tell me that the average cost of an over-the-counter transaction is five dollars. It's a dollar for a phone transaction, fifty cents for a ATM use, and 5 cents for an internal transaction.

"The costings for the Kiwibank are flawed, hence the problem with the franchises.

"Jim Anderton and Helen Clark can't sit on their hands. They signed up to Kiwibank. They need to take responsibility. At risk is $80 million, the franchises' businesses, and NZ Post," Mr Hide said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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