New Zealand Reverses Privatisation with KIWIBANK

By Larry Noye, Altona, Victoria

Our daily press pontificates on all sorts of issues. But is it so honest and above suspicion that it can deliver judgements. Certainly not ! Consider the case of banking.

The New Zealand Labour government led by Helen Clarke launched a government owned bank Kiwibank in February 2002. Using New Zealand’s extensive post office net work as a base it has successfully competed against the all foreign owned major banks in New Zealand.and recorded its maiden profit of $2.5 million for the six months ended December 2004 and has $1.23 billion in home mortgages. It has kept account fees down and influenced the major banks to reintroduce banking services in locations they had deserted.

But does our press tell Australians of this banking success across the Tasman ? Certainly not. ! Not a word about Kiwibank in the financial columns of any of the Fairfax or Murdoch papers. It would not be in the interests of the private banks to have a government competitor forcing down fees and profits.

It’s time the Australian Labor Party which launched the Commonwealth Bank in the early years after Federation as an interest cutting bank, until Keating privatised it, took heed of what the New Zealand Labour government has done with Kiwibank.

Details of Kiwibank’s operations can be found at www.kiwibank.co.nz