The announcement by Prime Minister John Key yesterday that the Government will delay the partial sale of Mighty River Power until next year came as a bit of a surprise.
There was fairly general consensus earlier yesterday that Mr Key would probably forge ahead with his plan to sell shares in state assets, starting with Mighty River Power. However, it seems as if he has hesitated because of opposition from Maori.
Mr Key went into the last election adamant that an asset sale programme was part of the Government's plan. When he won the election quite comfortably, he claimed that this gave him the mandate for the partial sale of assets.
At each step of the process, Mr Key and his Government have shown a determination to forge ahead with the process but the public mood seems to be shifting on this one. In the beginning, the feeling was that while there may be some people opposed to the sale, it would not deter Mr Key.
However, there has been a groundswell of opposition recently and last week's call by the Waitangi Tribunal for the Government to halt the partial sale of Mighty River Power increased the pressure even more. The tribunal said the partial privatisation would affect its ability to make redress to Maori rights in water.