Coalition will sacrifice credibility if it backs Iemma’s power sell-off

Commenting on the story on page 2 of today’s Sydney Morning Herald, Dr Kaye said: “Coalition support for privatisation could only be on a wing and a promise.

“The government’s Electricity Industry Restructuring Bill creates broad ranging powers for Treasurer Michael Costa to privatise the state’s retailers and the generators in any way he sees fit, without further reference to parliament.

“The legislation ignores four of the five Coalition pre-conditions.

“It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to amend the Bill to include independent oversight of the sale process by the auditor-general or a parliamentary committee or the adoption of a Rural Communities Impact statement.

“Support for the Iemma government’s legislation would then be based on a promise from Treasurer that he would implement the Coalition’s conditions.

“For months Mr O’Farrell maintained the Coalition would ‘wait to see the detail’ before promising to back the changes to electricity industry ownership.

“Now that the Electricity Industry Restructuring Bill is available on the government’s web site, it is clear that the Iemma government has no intention of releasing the details of how the industry will be restructured and sold-off.

“It would be a massive back down for the Liberals and Nationals to vote for legislation that allows the Treasurer to choose the final structure of the industry, the nature of the sale or lease and the maximum ownership level any one individual can hold.

“He can even override provisions of the Trade Practices Act relating to electricity trading contracts.

“The Coalition’s credibility is on the line. If they hand over control of the electricity industry to Treasurer Costa, their promise to scrutinise the sell-off will prove to have been nothing but political posturing to placate unhappy rural MPs,” Dr Kaye said.

For more information:    John Kaye 0407 195 455