Mike's Minute: Reality vs ideology re: asset sales

Bit of buzz around Kiwibank as it potentially looks to have another crack at getting bigger, and by getting bigger, then becomes better able to take on the so-called "big four". 

This is business and it's politics. 

Asset sales are back on the agenda, especially for the National and ACT parties. 

NZ First, not so much. So it may well be one of those things that gets tossed around as an idea, but in the reality of an MMP environment, it goes nowhere. 

Making the Kiwibank story slightly unique is its role in the overall banking atmosphere of New Zealand and whether a bigger bank would solve any of the perceived competition problems we have. 

People we know are prepared to change banks. Last year when there was a free for all on cashbacks for borrowing, people were moving freely like the wind. So the idea that there isn't competition doesn’t appear to be true. 

But I'm in a minority given everyone from the Commerce Commission to the Finance Minister argues otherwise. 

I also detect more broadly that asset sales are not, as a topic, as edgy as they once were. 

If you go back to the 80's and Labour under Douglas and Prebble, asset sales were dynamite and not all of them went well, which didn’t help the pro-sales argument. 

But the cold hard-ish reality here, 40 years on, is there isn't a lot left to sell. 

Some chunks of power companies are worth serious money. 

We have an airline, a TV network, a radio network, some farms – it's all got a moderately piecemeal vibe to it. 

Kiwibank should be able to raise the sort of money it needs, and it should be allowed to grow. Is the counter to a partial sale that we like a small, restricted bank that hasn’t been allowed to be all it could be just so we can say we are anti-asset sales? 

In Kiwibank's case you are holding back growth. 

In TVNZ's case it's about ideology, i.e. should the state run a TV station given the place isn't worth anything to sell? 

And in say the case of Genesis, it's about serious coin we could badly use elsewhere. 

If this idea goes anywhere this election year, you would hope we are less hung up on ideology and more attuned to the nuances of the debate than we have been in the past. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The buzz around Kiwibank, of course, as it potentially looks
to have another crack at getting bigger, and by getting
bigger then becomes better able to take on the so
called Big Four. This is business, and of course it
is also politics, because asset sales are back on the agenda,
especially for National and the ACT Party. New Zealand first
not so much so. It may well be one of
those things that gets tossed around as an idea but

(00:20):
in the reality of an MMP environment actually goes nowhere,
making the Kiwibank story slightly unique. Though, is its role
in the overall banking atmosphere of New Zealand and whether
a bigger bank would solve any of the perceived competition
problems that we have. People we know are prepared to
change banks, right So last year when there was a
free for all on those cash backs for borrowing, people

(00:41):
were moving freely like the wind. So the idea that
thererisen competition doesn't appear to be true. But I am
in a minority given everyone from the Commis Commission to
the Finance Minister argues otherwise. I also detect more broadly
that asset sales are not as a topic as eg
as they once were. Now, if you go back to
the eighties and labor under Douglas and Preble, sales were
dynamite and not all of them went well, which didn't

(01:02):
help the pro sales argument. But the cold hardish regality
here forty years on is there isn't a lot left
to sell. I mean, you've got some chunks of power
companies that's worth serious dough. We've got an airline, a
TV networker, radio networks, some farms. Till got a moderately
piecemeal vibe to it, hasn't it. Kiwi Bank should be
able to raise the sort of money it needs, and
it should be allowed to grow. Is the counter to

(01:25):
a partial sale that we want. We like small restricted banking,
do we That hasn't been allowed to be all it
could be. So we just say, oh, we're all anti
asset sales. In Kiwibank's case, you are holding back growth.
But you say you look at SATV and Z and
TV and z's case, it would be about ideology, i e.
Should this state run a television station because the place
isn't worth anything to sell if you put it on

(01:46):
the market known to buy it, and in say the
case of Genesis, it's about serious coin that we could
badly use elsewhere. If this idea goes anywhere this selection year,
you would hope we are less hung up on ideology
and more attune to the nuances of the debate than
we have been in the past. For more from The
Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to News Talks at B

(02:08):
from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.