13 April 2006
Let failed bid be a sign - port should be retained by public
Christchurch City Council's failure to purchase sufficient shares in the Port of Lyttelton to proceed with a planned
deal with an overseas company is a sign that the port should be retained in public hands, Green MP Metiria Turei says.
"Public assets like Lyttelton Port must be retained in public hands. The returns from such assets - built up through
investment of public funds - should be directed into the communities who support them," Mrs Turei says.
"If Lyttelton Port is sold, even in part, to a private company, money will leak out of the community into overseas
hands. This is unacceptable.
"The privatisation of other public assets has been a dismal failure. We have seen time and time again that assets are
degraded, services reduced, and profits sent overseas.
"This proposed sale of Lyttelton Port follows hard on the heels a Christchurch City Council proposal to sell off
libraries. It is shocking to see this council pursuing a privatisation agenda, especially with a Mayor who is part of
the 2021 Coalition and a Labour Party member.
"I hope this failed takeover bid will be the end of attempts to sell shares in the port offshore," Mrs Turei says.
ENDS