Posts by insider

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  • Hard News: Unwarranted risk, in reply to merc,

    @ merc

    It has about $600m invested in it (shareholder equity). What the 'cost' of KB is, is a different question. PS Post Bank was privatised way before KB came into existence.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2011 • 31 posts Report

  • Hard News: Unwarranted risk, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    @ deepred

    This is fantasy stuff. And maybe Xena will come swooping down out of the trees too.

    Option #1 - what loop are you going to unbundle? The national grid which is owned by the govt? It's already effectively open access, as is the local grid. #2 You'd be talking about Kiwibank that has a marginal share of the banking market after 10 years and where banking margins have increased. Great model. # 3 Well maybe, if they plan on investing in overseas assets that are hugely overpriced.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2011 • 31 posts Report

  • Hard News: Unwarranted risk, in reply to merc,

    @ merc

    Same way the monopolies Vector, Port of Tauranga, Powerco managed to get listed.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2011 • 31 posts Report

  • Hard News: Unwarranted risk, in reply to BenWilson,

    "That's killed our power generation investment all on its own. "

    You must live in a completely alternative reality Ben because you seem to have completely missed the 1500MW of new generation commissioned since about 1998. Given we only have about 9500MW of generation, it seems a fairly decent level of market investment.

    Note that quite a lot of that 1500MW was not done by the govt. Note also that the main special pleading in recent years came from an SOE; that required a special intervention by govt before it would commit to build Huntly 5.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2011 • 31 posts Report

  • Hard News: Unwarranted risk, in reply to Ross Mason,

    @ Ross Mason

    No, we taxpayers never (or at least not in recent history) owned them. They were (and many still are) owned by ratepayers through MEDs and the like. My family was really happy to get $1500 in the mail when Transalta was created. I object to the otehr half being retained by the self important former councillors like John Terris who like to sit doling grants out to the masses because they thought we were too dumb to know what to do witht the money ourselves.

    Lines charges in Wellington are no worse than any other region (but then they are regulated...) and the service is not noticably worse. I've been seeing a lot of investment going in to power pole and pylon replacement. Hardly the platform for revolution.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2011 • 31 posts Report

  • Hard News: Unwarranted risk, in reply to Rich of Observationz,

    Do you include the $1b loss in value from unbundling legislation?

    Wellington • Since Sep 2011 • 31 posts Report

  • Hard News: Unwarranted risk,

    @ stephen judd

    'We' don't own generation and delivery of power; we own large bits of it but not all. We the taxpayer don't own any local lines.

    But govt retains sovereignty. Not owning Telecom hasn't stopped it aggressively intervening in that market. We currently have high levels of intervention in electricity yet claims about people going cold. Maybe that ongoing intervention is creating more of a problem than it;s solving by distracting powercos from the basics?

    Ownership might be a disincentive in effective social intervention because govt will always be counting the dollar impact on its businesses around rule changes.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2011 • 31 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Solemnity of the Day,

    Am I Blue? Am I Blue? Are these tears in my eyes telling you?

    (Make the act to) tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree...

    When [Jacinda]'s walking down the street I see red, I see red, I see red

    For United we stand, divided we fail

    Wellington • Since Sep 2011 • 31 posts Report

  • Hard News: Dropping the Bomber, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Bomber might not be serious in calling him a meth addict but there are some regulars at the Stranded seriously calling him a psychopath, a sociopath, and an alcoholic. Seriously bizarre.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2011 • 31 posts Report

  • Hard News: Who owns the news?,

    Just read the report in about 10mins - it is that lightweight. Just because it is written by an academic doesn't make it of academic standard - using Facebook likes as a measure of trending public concern about ownership was just one "oh FFS" moment.

    For a self described "New Zealand Media Ownership Report" there is precious little on ownership and its effect. There are a couple of small tables on the top shareholdings in the main media companies but nothing on how that has changed, who those people might be - apart from calling one person who owns 1.5% of Fairfax a media 'mogul' (whatever that might be). There is no consideration of ownership and viewership - Ironbridge may 'own' mediaworks but how's it doing vs TVNZ say in the ratings?

    If you want questions Russell, I'd ask her what she thinks this report has added in terms of knowledge of NZ media and why? I'd also ask what does it matter who owns these things, isn't it what we see and hear that is most important?

    Wellington • Since Sep 2011 • 31 posts Report

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