Some critics have questioned the need for my member’s bill protecting Auckland’s assets under the super city. The right wing bloggers have worked themselves up into a froth over it. Baseless scaremongering they say. Even Brian Rudman in the Herald questions whether there is any threat to our publicly owned assets. On the other hand, others like Matt McCarten have backed the bill.

Here’s the equation as I see it:

We have a Prime Minister who says there will be no asset sales in this term of government. Hardly a statement to inspire confidence.

Plus: It wasn’t so long ago city fathers sold off one of the most profitable pieces of our infrastructure, the Auckland International Airport.

Plus: Politicians in both central and local government tried to sell the ports of Auckland and nearly succeeded. There are plenty of leaders in the Auckland business community who would like to see the ports sold off immediately.

Plus: Local Government Minister Rodney Hide leads a party that wants to force Councils to sell off their commercial operations.

Plus: Hide is leading a Cabinet-mandated review of he Local Government Act pushing an agenda of rolling back the scope of councils to certain ‘core services’ (namely transport, water, drainage, roads, waste disposal).

Plus: The Government has loosened up the rules on overseas investment. We know that when key infrastructure assets have been sold in the past they have mostly ended up in the hands of foreign owners, with the result of profits heading off shore.

Plus: Infrastructure monopolies like the port and the airport and the water company are natural monopolies. Put into private hands they lead to monopoly rent-seeking behaviour. In public hands they can more easily be regulated to protect the public interest.

Plus: The new super city wraps up $28 billion worth of Auckland assets under one organization, instead of 8 fractious councils, making privatization that much easier were it to be attempted.

Equals: Our community-owned assets need protection. Aucklanders should have the final say on any move to sell them.

One way to do it is to require a majority vote in a referendum before they could be sold. That’s what my bill would do. Check out Not Yours To Sell for more info, and have your say.