The government's Mixed Ownership Model Bill, allowing privatisation of our state-owned electricity companies, passed last night by a single vote. The culprit? Peter Dunne. Dunne likes to paint himself as the voice of middle New Zealand, but middle New Zealand overwhelmingly opposes this theft by the 1%. If you'd like to let him know that, then you can email him on p.dunne@ministers.govt.nz. Hopefully, he's still concerned enough for his political future to change his mind if enough people demand it.
Meanwhile, the bill is off to the Finance and Expenditure select committee, who have already called for submissions. The due date is Friday, 13 April, and you can submit online here. If you're not sure how ot make a submission, then the Office of the Clerk has a handy guide here. This may be a fait accompli, but what we can do is make the political cost clear to National. We can also delegitimise it, opening up space for opposition parties to announce how it will be reversed. Assuming any of them have the backbone, that is.