Legal block on Ansett- considered

Press, 25 February 1988, Page 1

Legal block on Ansett- considered

By

LES BLOXHAM,

travel editor

Air New Zealand may turn to the courts in a bid to block any Ansett Australia attempt to increase its holding in Ansett New Zealand.

A spokesman for Air New Zealand confirmed last evening that the company was looking at legal avenues. “If we find one we will quite likely take action,” the spokesman said.

The Australian partner in the Ansett New Zealand consortium, Ansett Transport Industries, is not revealing its next move and Ansett New Zealand executives are also not prepared to comment.

The Government on Monday gave Ansett of Australia the green light to increase its shareholding in its New Zealand offshoot. The Government made

it clear that its decision could lead to the Australian company’s owning all of Ansett New Zealand. The airline has four Boeing 737 jets and two de Havilland Dash 8 turboprop aircraft. It will take delivery of two more jets within the next three months, and has four new Boeing 737/500 jets on order. These will hot be delivered until early 1990. Ansett’s philosophy on the use of overseas resources “to benefit New Zealand” was revealed in a background paper given to “The Press” in December, 1986. "Overseas investors had played an important part in the economic development of New Zealand,” the paper said. “Ansett New Zealand is taking advantage of overseas investment in the airline to build a strong foundation for its business in New Zealand.”

Such an approach had many

successful precedents in New Zealand, said Ansett. “It comes in many forms — either in New Zealand Government or Government agency borrowing, private sector borrowing, or direct equity investment.” The reason for offshore funding was that New Zealand’s domestic capital markets were too small to fund the development of the country at a tory pace, the discussion paper said. The most obvious examples of overseas investment in New Zealand were the oil companies and/ the motor, banking, and insuZ ance industries, it said. The activities of overseas companies in New Zealand meant more choice, and economic opportunities for New Zealanders as well as a more vigorous business climate which was able to provide jobs and yield tax revenues, the paper said.