Policy on asset sales to come
The government is yet to set its policy on state asset sales but would be ready to campaign on the issue before next year's election, Prime Minister John Key says.The government has ruled out any state asset sales including partial sales before the next e
The government is yet to set its policy on state asset sales but would be ready to campaign on the issue before next year's election, Prime Minister John Key says.
The government has ruled out any state asset sales including partial sales before the next election.
"I have made it quite clear it's my expectation that we will kick the tyres of that policy," Mr Key told reporters.
"For us to be able to assess the benefits or otherwise of having a policy of partial sales we need to get some advice on that, so, at some point, I expect the Minister of Finance (Bill English) to ask Treasury to undertake some work to give us some advice.
"Eventually once that advice came back we would be in a position to decide what election policy we would want to take into 2011 election."
Mr Key said the country had about $212 billion of assets; "and it's not necessarily always fully allocated in the right place so there may be some merit in having some flexibility in that balance sheet."
Projections were that assets would increase.
"But I want to see the advice and see the benefits or otherwise ... if we were to endorse the idea of partial sales."
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