A citizen's-initiated referendum on asset sales begins in a little over a week. So naturally the government is planning to dump its share of Air new Zealand before the vote:
The Government is being tipped to sell down its stake in Air New Zealand early next week ahead of a referendum asking Kiwis if they support partial sales of state-owned assets.
The Government owns 73 per cent of the national carrier and has said it wants to reduce its stake to 51 per cent, but has yet to name a timeframe.
Several market sources spoken to today said there was an expectation that the deal would be done before a referendum asking Kiwis if they support the Government selling up to 49 per cent of Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Genesis Power, Solid Energy and Air New Zealand.
Postal voting for the non-binding referendum opens on Friday November 22 and closes on December 13. "The smart money is on something to kick off early next week," said one market source.
I can't think of a stronger signal of National's contempt for democracy, and for voters, than this. Faced with a referendum, National's response is basicly a giant "fuck you" to the New Zealand people. A party with that attitude simply does not deserve to be in government.
