A scheme funded by New Zealand taxpayers netted billionaire Peter Thiel tens of millions of dollars while his publicly funded investment partner barely broke even.
The partnering of Thiel's Valar Ventures and the Government-owned New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) was launched by minister Steven Joyce in March 2012, nine months after Thiel took his oath of citizenship at the New Zealand consulate in Santa Monica.
Joyce said at the time the venture was "part of the Government's comprehensive business growth agenda", but a Herald investigation has discovered the arrangement was quietly ended in October when Thiel activated a generous buyback option allowing him and his private partners to claim all profits from the venture by cheaply buying out his public co-investor.
Basicly, NZVIF's investment contract was written to privatise gains while socialising losses, and Thiel took us to the cleaners using it. Its been changed now, but it should never have happened in the first place. But that's what happens when your policy is focused on producing positive headlines like "billionaire invests in NZ!" rather than on protecting the public interest.
National purports to be better economic managers. Instead, they focus on enriching the rich and looting the state for the benefit of their donors and cronies. Isn't it time we had a government which cared about us, rather than National's tiny clique of friends?