Professor Richard Shaw: David Seymour says Kiwis are too squeamish about privatisation.....

David Seymour says Kiwis are too squeamish about privatisation – history shows why they lost the appetite

State asset sales have been a political dividing line in New Zealand for decades now, and it seems voters are again being asked to decide which side they’re on.

In his state-of-the-nation speech last week, ACT Party leader David Seymour advised New Zealanders to “get past their squeamishness about privatisation” and ask themselves:

Kerre Woodham: Should a Government be run like a widget factory?

First up, and this is something that I know is near and dear to all our hearts: ACT has vowed to crack down on the public services.

As they pointed out yesterday, Government spending has grown from $80.6 billion a year in 2017 to $137 billion in 2023. New Zealanders, including Labour voters, according to ACT’s polling, believe that public services are far worse now than they were a few years ago, and I think we’d agree with that, wouldn't we?