Conflicts of Interest

The Government has effectively said no (or at least not now, and probably no) to the plans to make Whenuapai Air Base a commercial airport.

The company involved has accused the Government of acting to support Air New Zealand due to their ownership of the airline..

Now I think the Government made the right call on this issue, but the proponents do have a point. There is a conflict of interest for the Government. This is of course a good reminder of why it is preferable for the Government to own as few competitive enterprises as possible (few=none).