Sale of unwanted aircraft worth $100m

Today - four years after the Defence Force's air combat wing was mothballed - the Government is expected to approve the sale of the ageing Skyhawk and Aermacchi jets.

Defence Minister Mark Burton will take a proposal to the Cabinet for the sale, which is understood to be worth more than $100 million.

There is speculation that the buyer of the 34 jets, which have been kept in storage since 2001 at a cost of around $300,000 a month, is an American pilot training company.

The Government has been trying to sell the aircraft since they were decommissioned but, despite a number of interested parties, has had no luck until now.

Mr Burton said that if the Cabinet approved the sale, he would release the details today.

He described the sale as "very satisfactory" and said the net return would go back to the Defence Force.

Storage, maintenance and sales commission costs would all come off the sale price.

A year ago, Parliament was told the jets had cost about $8 million to maintain and store and accountancy firm Ernst & Young had been paid more than $1 million to sell them.

Prime Minister Helen Clark told One News that the costs of the sale would be close to $10 million.

New Zealand First defence spokesman Ron Mark last night criticised the sale, saying the Government had no moral right or authority to approve it so close to the election.

"It is entirely against the principles of democracy to sign off on the sale of the aircraft. Right now they should keep their sticky fingers off."

Mr Mark said the sale would make it difficult for any incoming Government to re-establish the air combat wing, something he said New Zealand First intended to do.

National Party defence spokesman John Carter said the Prime Minister needed to make all papers on the sale public.

"While National may not necessarily disagree with the terms of the agreement, we would expect that in the interests of transparency Labour would want to keep us informed."

The Skyhawks were purchased in the late 1960s and were used by the Air Force from 1970 until they were mothballed.