Labour insurance no assurance for NZ

Chester Borrows PHOTO/FILE

They reckon if you stay in one place long enough the whole world will pass you by and so it is with Labour.

A little slice of New Zealand Insurance history seems timely at this moment when Labour has promised to make an insurance company.

After the passing of the State Owned Enterprises Act in 1986 under the Douglas/Lange Government, the demise of the State Insurance office was certain.

Until then State Insurance had been the largest insurer of private domestic property in NZ and had a reputation as an extremely profitable company despite the numerous natural disasters that occurred in NZ.

It needs to be remembered that in 1905 the insurance office was opened by the Government of the day under Richard Seddon's Liberal Government. Initially the Government only invested 2000, although Seddon had wanted 250,000. There were some other funds injected in 1912, but after that the State Insurance was self-funding. It is a matter of record that it was "well managed", and Labour sold it for $735 million to Norwich Union in 1990.

At the time local businessman and soon to be National Party Wanganui Electorate Chairman, David Bennett pointed out in a letter to the Wanganui Chronicle, that "... the funds the Labour Government are pocketing are in fact not the Government's at all ... they belong to the policy holders who have paid their premiums over the years and from which State Insurance has made profits and built up reserves."

At the time the National Party defended the rights of the State Insurance office's 700,000 policy holders. Even Jim Anderton (former Labour Party president) opposed the sale.

Now we have Labour saying they want to start another Government-owned insurance company. This at a time when there is increasing commercial opposition, and right after the Canterbury earthquakes, the biggest liability-per-capita event in recent history. Those independent commentators trying to speak some sense to Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition point out that in order to cater for this much liability, the risk has to be spread internationally. That means holding huge investments or loans globally, to cover the risk of a major natural disaster in New Zealand. Now readers are asking, "A bit like an earthquake?" Exactly!

Now the same old Labour is flailing around for policy ideas that it wrote off 23 years ago when Phil Goff, Annette King, and Trevor Mallard were all there at or near Cabinet. Maryan Street and Ruth Dyson were senior members of the party about to become presidents.

Then Labour was union-led, union-driven and union-funded, nothing like it is today. Yeah, right. Nothing changes with Labour: same old, same old.

By their own admission Labour hasn't counted the cost of any of this policy but thinks the sound of it will make beautiful music to the voters, and to some of them it will, but let's hope that serenade doesn't lead them into government this time next year.

In our electorate Labour in power would mean a closed Wanganui Collegiate, zero oil and gas in South Taranaki, no ultra-fast broadband, more closed rural schools, so less farming and a dying rural economy which lies at the heart of almost all business in our electorate.