Wednesday 8 March 2006

Alliance Party says Port of Lyttelton deal "devious privatization by stealth."

The Alliance Party says that Port of Lyttelton should be put in public ownership, not put under the control of a multinational corporation.

Alliance Party co-leader Paul Piesse says that a proposal to partially sell off the Port in a deal with Hong Kong based Hutchison Ports is "a devious privatization by stealth."

"The Ports of Auckland have recently gone back into public ownership, and most other ports in New Zealand are largely owned by Regional and City Councils. This means that revenue is kept in local communities with at least some level of democratic input."

He says that the deal shows how New Zealand's vital infrastructure is still under threat from 1990s style privatization mania.

Mr Piesse says the Council should simply buy up the port and keep it under local control.

He says the Lyttelton situation is a sign of things to come when the proposed free trade deal with China is put in action.

ENDS

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