Air New Zealand: Response by Richard Prebble

Wednesday 12 Feb 2003 Richard Prebble Press Releases -- Governance & Constitution

ACT New Zealand Leader Richard Prebble is unsurprised by the Treasury warning that the Government will need to put more taxpayer money into Air NZ if the Qantas takeover doesn't succeed.

"It was clear that the Government investment in Air NZ was risky, not thought through, and the airline was dangerously under-capitalised.

"The only result of the Government's intervention has been to deliver the national airline to its bitter rival Qantas. The real commercial lesson is that governments should be very reluctant to invest in business ventures - especially railways which, over the years, have been even more expensive than airlines," Mr Prebble.

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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