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Monday, 18 February 2008

NSW Labor to fight Iemma on privatisation

Alex Mitchell writes:

The blowtorch to the belly of the Iemma Government over its plans to privatise the NSW power industry has become a whole lot more menacing. A largely unreported weekend conference of Labor Party members held in Sydney voted unanimously to oppose the sale and called on Labor MPs to end their deafening silence and vote against the legislation when it is tabled, possibly next week.

The seminar was notable for the fact that it was chaired by ALP state president Bernie Riordan, who also happens to be the secretary of the Electrical Trades Union and the son of Whitlam minister Joe Riordan.

For the record, the two motions passed were:

This meeting of NSW rank and file ALP members:

  • Supports the continued, full public ownership of the NSW electricity industry.
  • Opposes the scheme to lease Government owned generators and to sell retail licenses. Or any proposition which would seek to separate ownership and control of either generation or retailing.

This meeting of NSW rank and file ALP members calls for ALP parliamentary representatives not to shelter behind the notion of “Cabinet solidarity” or the more recent invention of “Caucus solidarity”. We therefore call on our ALP parliamentary representatives to stand up and be counted in Caucus, State Conference and other party forums against the privatization of electricity.

When State Parliament resumes next Tuesday, refortified MPs returning from their 11-week break will be met by a protest in Macquarie Street opposing the sale, but it will be ignored by the premier and his Treasurer Michael Costa.

They seem oblivious to the growing chorus of opposition to the sale which is predicted to net $15 billion to be allocated to various overdue infrastructure projects.

The ALP’s all-powerful administrative committee meets in early March to decide whether to approve the sell-off or to oppose it when the state conference is held at Sydney Town Hall on May 3 and 4.

The stakes are incredibly high. Iemma and Costa, a former secretary of the NSW Labor Council, have already indicated they will ignore any decision by the ALP to oppose the sale. That would place them on a direct collision course with the labor and trade union movement and make the looming conflict over wages and jobs even more acrimonious.

Sensing Iemma’s difficulties, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has bought into the debate backing the premier. This has been the signal for the right-wing machine led by Senator-elect Mark Arbib, Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal and Education Minister John Della Bosca, all former party general secretaries, to be set loose to twist arms and win the conference vote.

Three former premiers, Neville Wran, Barrie Unsworth and Bob Carr, are also doing their bit to engineer the sale … and save the political neck of Morris Iemma.

11 Comments

  1. John James # 2
    Posted Monday, 18 February 2008 at 1:33 pm | Permalink

    Howard warned about the consequences of wall to wall Labor governments and especially the price Australia would pay when the Union boys were back in town. In Sydney, they never left!

  2. Julia
    Posted Monday, 18 February 2008 at 6:09 pm | Permalink

    Climate change requires that public policies to reduce energy use. Privatising energy supply from coal fired power stations provides a strong commercial impetus to increase energy consumption. This is the real problem with the sale.

  3. dermot J mcguire
    Posted Monday, 18 February 2008 at 8:29 pm | Permalink

    bond issue, as other types of go pear shaped government bonds become more attractive. not coal natural gas like the new one at Dapto

  4. Tom McL#2
    Posted Tuesday, 19 February 2008 at 6:55 am | Permalink

    Thought bubble: Kaiser hears about Qld retail energy sales early 07. K gets nod from Iemma here. K leaks Koperberg (K2) 20 year old dirt to shut up/disaggregate Left, neutralise counter high status. K2 fails to die. Unions dig in. K ditches back to Qld!

  5. dermot mcguire
    Posted Monday, 18 February 2008 at 7:25 pm | Permalink

    Is there a compelling economic case for the sale? I’m yet to hear one.

  6. John James
    Posted Monday, 18 February 2008 at 7:37 pm | Permalink

    Iemma and Rudd argue that NSW will need increased base load power that only another coal fired station can supply They maintain that will require a 9 billion dollar investment in electricty infrastructure. NSW hasn’t the money. So what is the alternative?

  7. Warwick Capper
    Posted Wednesday, 20 February 2008 at 9:00 am | Permalink

    There were approx 100 people at this meeting. Its hardly a “blowtorch” effect.

  8. Tom McLoughlin#3
    Posted Tuesday, 19 February 2008 at 7:59 am | Permalink

    Iemma Govt trouble on dodgy bros hospital - refer Willy Stark aka Huey Long, in All The Kings Men, 2006 starring Sean Penn re corrupt nepotism school construction tender - 3 dead kids - main plot line is construction of a .. hospital!!. Fact or fiction?

  9. John James
    Posted Monday, 18 February 2008 at 1:29 pm | Permalink

    If there is a compelling economic argument for the privatisation then the Union tail is wagging the party dog well and truly.Notice NSW resistance to uniform Federal control of IR also.There is some irony in Iemma under the pump from a group Rudd defended

  10. Tom McLoughlin
    Posted Monday, 18 February 2008 at 6:24 pm | Permalink

    Prof Bob Walker tore economics of yes case to shreds on Alan Jones 2GB for 10-15 min’s after 7 am today. Jones buttressing. Then Opp Brad Hazard tore shreds off Sartor for Planning or is that Musolini (speaking as 1/8 Italian myself, Calabria(!))

  11. grant
    Posted Monday, 18 February 2008 at 11:55 pm | Permalink

    is it really privatisation if china buys it? its just a grab for fees. raise the money, retain control, invest in gas, solar & if needs be, clean coal. it aint so hard. Rudd cannot back this and expect to retain any credibility on his Kyoto showboat.