National takes flak on Air NZ

The Business Roundtable is backing the Government's stance on the Air New Zealand-Qantas deal and has issued a stinging rebuke to the National Party's campaign against the plan.

Roundtable chairman Rob McLeod, in the first statement on the deal to be issued by the group, said there should be a principled debate on the partial sale of Air New Zealand to Qantas, instead of "knee-jerk reactions".

The Business Roundtable's view was that the Government should not be involved long-term in the risky business of owning an airline and it should sell down its interests at the earliest opportunity.

Air New Zealand should also be allowed to determine its business strategy on a fully commercial basis without political interference, McLeod said.

"They should be allowed to exercise their commercial judgment, subject to all relevant regulations, and should be held accountable for their decisions by their shareholders."

He said the full set of tests under the Commerce Act would be applied, which would be tough to meet and the Government was acting correctly by not pre-empting decisions of the Commerce Commission and its Australian counterpart.

The National Party "did not appear to be taking a principled approach" to the issue.

"It is irresponsible and damaging to New Zealand's business reputation to be seeking to pre-empt the decisions of a statutory watchdog," he said.

National's stance was "more reminiscent of its interventionist past than its recently stated support for free enterprise, limited government and respect for the rule of law."