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The Green Party says Prime Minister John Key is disregarding people’s democratic rights with his timing of the referendum on state asset sales.
Co-leader Metiria Turei says the sales are going ahead with the question of their impact on treaty rights still unresolved.
She says more than 300,000 people signed the petition calling for the referendum, but the Government rejected an offer to delay it until next year’s general election, as long as further asset sales were put on hold.
Instead Mr Key announced the date after starting the Meridian Energy sell-off.
"He's done it as a postal vote, which gives it greater risk. He's done it so that the end date is just before christmas so it goes between the 22nd of November and the 13th of December and hes just doing everything he can to undermine NZ'ers confidence in their democratic process. He might not agree with it, I mean – we didnt agree with the smacking referendum many years ago either but, the fact is that people have the right to have them," says Metiria Turei.
The exchange of Solid Energy shares for bank debt as part of the state owned coal miner’s rescue plan announced yesterday is another form of privatisation.
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