I see nothing nice about carping on about state governments and their assets. NSW’s enerators have for many years been leading examples of well managed corporations, they are accountable through audit and annual report, as well as through both Board and Ministerial oversight. They return large dividends to the public purse and are responsible and caring employers.

Perhaps it has escaped your attention that not all members of your preferred corporate ownership system have behaved as well in this big, bad world. As far as I know, no state-owned generator has ever failed to provide an honest return on investment. The top brass are paid about one tenth of the salary ripped off by their counterparts in the “real” or capitalist world.

I suggest that you take a good hard look at the state owned generators some time, investigate the privatised equivalents and report the true picture here. We can be proud of our publicly owned generators. As an employee engineer in a NSW power station, perhaps I am biased, but I am surely knowledgeable on this subject.

Back to the story… yes, there is a lot worthy of consideration and of criticism in the Commonwealth’s current ETS proposals. I look forward to further discussion, even argument, from all sides.

But lay off the name-calling. Let’s keep this debate rational.