The chances of the Government raising $5 billion to $7 billion from its partial assets sales is looking dimmer after details of No 2 sale, Meridian, were announced last night.
Finance Minister Bill English conceded that the Government would like to have had more New Zealand investors than the 62,000 and a higher share price than $1.50.
But he blamed in no small part Labour and Greens' energy policy, accusing them of scaring off mum and dad investors from Mighty River Power and Meridian because of their policy to control wholesale power prices.
"They set out to sabotage lower income New Zealanders doing it. Unfortunately they've had some effect."
Unless Labour and the Greens promised to borrow money from overseas bankers to buy back the shares "it's all crocodile tears, hand-wringing and whingeing".