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No Privatisation
Greens ?Save Public Services? campaign
Thursday, 13 September 2007
 | In the state election in March this year Labor campaigned strongly to protect 20,000 public sector jobs that the Coalition planned to axe if they won government. Premier Morris Iemma never mentioned any sell-offs of public assets and services in the election campaign Six months later the Iemma-Costa government are implementing Coalition policy with plans to privatise key public services. The NSW government is looking into the privatisation or outsourcing of: - Electricity retailers - Rail maintenance services - Waste services - State lotteries - Bus transit ways - Water utilities The NSW government has no mandate to sell these public services. Public infrastructure and services have been built up over many years. They should be held in trust for future generations, not sold for short term political or financial gain. |
Strong community and union campaigns stopped government plans to privatise NSW electricity in 1997 and the Snowy Hydro in 2006. We again need a strong campaign to protect public assets and services from Costa's privatisation push.
Privatise Costa!
Treasurer Michael Costa is the architect of the NSW governments privatisation push. The Greens want to privatise Costa, not public services.
If Treasurer Michael Costa is so keen on the private sector he should resign and join the big end of town now. Governments role should be to rejuvenate the public sector and energise the delivery of quality public services. Treasurer Costa is running down public services before selling them off.
At the cabinet budget dinner fund-raiser for the Labor Party in May 2007 attended by 800 people, the Sydney Morning Herald (25 June 2007) reported that Costa joked that if he had the chance he would halve the number of NSW public servants. Selling off our public services is a quick way to achieve that goal.
Treasurer Michael Costa is the architect of the NSW governments privatisation push. The Greens want to privatise Costa, not public services.
If Treasurer Michael Costa is so keen on the private sector he should resign and join the big end of town now. Governments role should be to rejuvenate the public sector and energise the delivery of quality public services. Treasurer Costa is running down public services before selling them off.
At the cabinet budget dinner fund-raiser for the Labor Party in May 2007 attended by 800 people, the Sydney Morning Herald (25 June 2007) reported that Costa joked that if he had the chance he would halve the number of NSW public servants. Selling off our public services is a quick way to achieve that goal.
Privatisation fails
Privatisation of public services places the quality of public services, jobs and the environment at risk. Corporations are profit driven and will cherry pick profitable services.
Examples of privatisation failures are thick on the ground:
Examples of privatisation failures are thick on the ground:
- In November 2006, the Victorian government indicated that it would buy back the lease of Victorias country rail network from Pacific National at a cost of $130 million to the Victorian government
- The NSW government eventually had to buy-back the privatised Port Macquarie Hospital. After privatisation, this hospital quickly developed one of the longest waiting lists and one of the poorest performance records on health department measurements.
- In one US state, privatising electricity saw an increase in electricity prices of 600% after only three years.
A short walk through recent history shows that touted increases in productivity that privatisation bring are usually gained through reducing the quality of services, loosening environmental controls and cutting jobs, wages and conditions. And as sure as night follows day privatisation is followed by price hikes.
Links
State ponders the $21bn appeal of privatisation, The Australian, 8 September 2007
Greens launch 'save public services' campaign, Media release, 30 August 2007
State ponders the $21bn appeal of privatisation, The Australian, 8 September 2007
Greens launch 'save public services' campaign, Media release, 30 August 2007
http://www.johnkaye.org.au/campaigns/energy/fossilfuels/owen-inquiry
Greens policy on public ownership
Greens policy on public ownership