Under
the guise of the government’s Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme the New
Zealand taxpayer will pay over $400 each to bailout South Canterbury
Finance. That means over $1.77 billion of your taxes handed over to
the rich speculators, known to the media as investors, at a time when
we are constantly being told there is no extra government funding
for the public services such as schools, hospitals etc, and that cuts
are the order of the day.
This
is the biggest government financial bailout in New Zealand history
since the collapse of the Bank of New Zealand in 1990. Then the
bailout was a paltry $600 million!
Up
to this point the Nats government has sat idly by as business after
business as been allowed to go under, in the downturn, throwing
thousands of workers on the dole in the process.
However,
according to the Nats government South Canterbury Finance was too big
to fail. What the Nats mean by this is that their supporters in the
South Island and elsewhere would lose their shirts and most likely
not vote for the Nats at the next general election!
It
was amazing how quick the Nats government can internvene in the
market when it suits them and use tax payer dollars like there was no
tomorrow.
Farce
Clearly
the whole farce around the octogenarian owner Allan Hubbard that was
playing out before the collapse with investigations into the
accounting practises, as well as, the misplaced public demonstrations
in support of the man in Timaru (as he was a good old boy that helps
folks out) were an indication that the game was about up. These
events were a marvel to behold. It appears that the books were an
antiquated handwritten ledger! Obviously, the New Zealand finance
capitalists are not a sophisticated
lot if this is to go by. Your local community groups are better
run!
It
is becoming self evident that the Nats government knew that South
Canterbury was in trouble long before the public did. In fact the
Nats government could have taken South Canterbury Finance out of the
Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme. In fact by keeping it in the scheme
South Canterbury Finance kept lending irresponsibly, and attracted
further investor safe in the knowledge that there was a nice earner
in it for them from the taxpayer when it collapsed.
Labour
David
Cunliffe MP has called for a full independent enquiry over the Nat’s
governments handling of South Canterbury Finance. Obviously this has
fallen on deaf ears as far as the Nats government is concerned.
The
issue for Labour is why in the waning days of the last Labour
government did they introduce such a scheme.
Even
by late 2008 it was apparent that such schemes as the Retail Deposit
Guarantee Scheme were to serve
one purpose only. This purpose was to nationalise the debt and
privatise the profits.
This
is what as now happened with South Canterbury Finance with
speculators walking away with our tax dollars. The Finance minister
believes he can get back some of the losses. This is at best a ‘hope
in hells chance.’ The majority of the debt will be carried by the
taxpayer.
Attacks
Since
the Nats government came to power in 2008 the average weekly wage
has now gone down by $50. On top of this is the hike in GST, effects
of the Emissions Trading Scheme., as well as cuts in public services
– one of the most pernicious being the attacks on the 20hrs free
education for kindergartens. To top it all off the attacks on
beneficiaries and workers rights. In other-words deflationary
wages/ conditions and inflationary prices/taxes!
Workers
need bailing out of the capitalist system with well paid jobs and
social security. This can only be achieved through the
nationalisation of the banks and large corporates in New Zealand not
government guarantee schemes.