Grey Power tells members "Vote no"

Whangarei Grey Power Secretary Jack Kerr is strongly opposed to asset sales.

Whangarei Grey Power is encouraging its members to vote "No" in the asset sales referendum.

The citizens-initiated referendum is now underway, amid controversy and protest at the Government's "mixed-ownership policy".

Prime Minister John Key has said the Government will ignore an unfavourable response and proceed with its plans to partially privatise Genesis Energy regardless of the result.

The Electoral Office estimates 56,970 people are eligible to vote in Whangarei, with 53,060 at present enrolled to vote - 93 per cent of the city's eligible population.

Wider Northland (excluding Whangarei) has 56,381 people enrolled - 88.65 per cent of the region's 63,610 eligible voters.

Whangarei had a 61.6 per cent voter turnout in the 2009 smacking referendum, and 63.2 per cent of eligible voters in wider Northland cast their ballot.

Whangarei Grey Power secretary Jack Kerr said asset sales "absolutely stink".

"We own those assets, I've never given them permission to sell them. [John Key's] never gone to the public [about it]. It's just to fill the coffers of the Government."

Grey Power was "totally opposed" to the policy, and had co-led the Keep our Assets petition that sparked the referendum. Mr Key's decision to ignore the referendum results was "arrogant", but members were still being encouraged to vote "No", Mr Kerr said.

"He thinks he's got a mandate from the general election to do it. Well I didn't give him a mandate."

Voting papers for the present citizens-initiated referendum started arriving in letterboxes on November 22, with the question: "Do you support the Government selling up to 49 per cent of Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Genesis Power, Solid Energy and Air New Zealand?"

Mr Key said last week that the referendum would almost certainly show the partial asset sales policy was unpopular with the public.

However, the Government plans to ignore the results and continue with the programme, under which Genesis, the final state-owned enterprise to be partially privatised, will be floated in the first half of next year.

Calls from Labour and the Greens to halt the sale in the event of an unfavourable referendum result have been labelled hypocritical by Mr Key, who says both parties didn't support repealing the "anti-smacking" legislation after a 2009 referendum. Under New Zealand law, citizens-initiated referendums are non-binding on the Government.