Referendum waste of energy

Chris Northover PHOTO/FILE

I'm a bit grumpy at the moment. It could be that I've wrecked my shoulder and can't cut my hedge for a few weeks (sorry, neighbour).

Or it could be that some lowlife burgled our freezer and pinched the meat that we were saving up for the Christmas invasion. But no - what is really getting up my nose is that our democratic system is being abused by some giant egos to make a point that has already been made. At enormous cost to us. Nine million dollars, give or take.

I refer to the referendum that we ought to be well on the way to posting back as you read this.

We are being asked as a nation whether we agree that the Government should go ahead and sell 49 per cent of some power companies and of Air New Zealand. Whether the Government would be so good at running those companies that it would be better to keep them completely under government control and forgo the money we might otherwise get for them. I have some views on this. But first, the need for this referendum.

The one thing that I remember best from the last national election was the frenzied campaign of no asset sales. No other policies were apparent from the opposition, only that one. There were television pictures of giant red flags saying "no asset sales" being unfurled on hydro dams, and signs up everywhere.

When the Prime Minister came to Wanganui to give an election address, he was monstered away from Majestic Square by some young toughs recruited to wield large red signs bearing the sponsors' message "no asset sales". I noticed one of the toughs proudly wearing a Justice Department ankle bracelet.

The hoped-for negative photo op was averted when the Prime Minister wisely walked on past the melee. There is something fishy about the political process, when on the one hand politicians will use questionable bully boy tactics to ensure that one party isn't allowed to talk, and then later use their democratic rights to get their own point made.

It is clear to me that the referendum has already been held. It was called the election.

I know how this will pan out - mainly only people still opposed to the sale of the assets will bother to vote in the referendum. The result will be a resounding "denunciation" of the asset sales policy. The Government will ignore it, as they have said they would. They won the election on a plank of selling the assets. The opposition parties will repeat the mantra: "This is an arrogant Government that refuses to listen to the people. They are out of touch."

To me, this looks like patronisation, taking advantage of the naivety of the electorate. How thick do the politicians believe their electorate is? About two short planks? Sadly, they may be right.

There will come a time when those in control of the generation of electricity will hold us by the short and curlies, so I am pleased that the Government only wants to sell 49 per cent of the companies, and retain control of the energy oligopolies. But looking back, I remember that full government ownership wasn't what made the old New Zealand Railways great - haemorrhaging money, with 26,000 staff. And I remember with no great fondness waiting a minimum six weeks for Telecom to provide a new phone connection - on a good day, and if you were nice to them.

Enough of this. I'm off to stagger down to the Pak'n Save and get some more meat before the Christmas inflation.

Chris Northover is a former Wanganui lawyer who has worked in the fields of aviation, tourism, health and the environment - as well as designing electric cars and importing photo-voltaic panels.