ETU condemns plans to privatise public infrastructure

The Abbott government’s proposed plan to incentivise states to sell off public infrastructure to private interests has been condemned by the Electrical Trades Union (ETU).

“This is all about selling out the future for a quick buck today,” said ETU National Secretary Allen Hicks.

“Selling off publicly owned power assets in NSW, for example, would be an absolute disaster for the public interest. In the most recent year, income from the NSW electricity networks has provided around $2.5 billion in total government revenue, once dividends, tax equivalents and government interest are taken into account.

“Rather than go into the pockets of a potential foreign owner as profit, this money is flowing into government coffers reliably each year to help fund public services, hospitals, schools and roads.

“A state government can pocket a one-off windfall through selling, but that would be wiped out within a decade once you take foregone income into account.”

Hicks referred to recent profits posted by state-owned electricity assets as evidence of the value of public ownership.

Under the Abbott government’s proposal, corporate tax that would otherwise be paid by a private owner to the federal government would be returned to the state government as an ‘incentive payment’, Hicks said.

“Currently, the states are already getting the equivalent of company tax on top of billions in annual shareholder returns, so this proposal in no way offers a true incentive to privatise these assets,” Hicks said.

“To the contrary - it underlines exactly why it is best to keep them under public ownership. The states are already getting the money. This proposal is nothing more than a paper shuffle dreamed up by the Liberal federal government to help their state colleagues justify privatisation agendas.

“Despite years of trying to pull the wool over our eyes, people understand that selling a profitable asset now for a quick payday is just stupid. That’s why privatisation of electricity assets remains such an unpopular concept.”