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Christchurch City Council must reject privatisation agenda
20 May 2012
Christchurch City Council must reject privatisation agenda
The Christchurch City Council must not yield to Government pressure to sell off public assets or adopt a privatisation agenda says the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU).
Although the Council’s Draft Annual Plan makes provision for a fully-funded earthquake recovery, the Government has “requested” that Council work with the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, Treasury and the Department of Internal Affairs to look at a number of issues including selling assets, introducing user charges and contracting out important services such as the City’s water supply.
The NZCTU spokesperson on earthquake recovery matters, Marty Braithwaite, says that in the context of the well reported broader political tensions surrounding the relationship between the Government and Council, the “request” for CCC to work with Treasury can only be interpreted as the Council once again being told what to do.
“An inescapable inference of this so-called request is of the Government using the earthquakes to drive an agenda of privatisation and contracting out”, Mr Braithwaite said. “This is based on an ideological dogma rather than economic and/or social necessity or benefit.”
Water, for example, is an increasingly important strategic asset, and contracting out its management and/or supply will introduce commercialisation and/or user pays. That should be opposed strongly,” Mr Braithwaite said.
In its submission on the Council’s Draft Annual Plan, the NZCTU says that Christchurch has a history of acting successfully in a manner independent of Treasury advice, to the point where the City was once dubbed “The Peoples’ Republic of Christchurch”.
The Council’s commercial companies, including Orion, the Port of Lyttelton and the Airport have proved invaluable for both strategic and economic reasons. The continued public-ownership of these assets is vital not only to a successful rebuilding of the city and its communities, but also by keeping rates down and ensuring that Council-owned companies operate for the benefit of ratepayers, not private shareholders.
The NZCTU submission on the Christchurch City Council Draft Annual Plan is available on request.
ENDS
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