Janet Collins
Billy MFive Reasons to Keep Electricity Public
April 29th 2008 10:25
On Saturday, here in New South Wales, Australia, Labor will be fighting it out among themselves about the privatisation of electricity. I can see five good reasons why electricity should stay in government hands.
1. Electricity is profitable – saves our State Government from begging for more money from our parent Federal Government. It may give our State Government a big lump sum payment but what happens when it runs out?
2. Our State Government is accountable for it – they have to make sure it keeps working properly. Once it goes into private hands, the accountability for it changes and profits take much more of a priority than accountability.
3. It will prevent yet another industry becoming casualised. Casual work had done so much damage to the living standards, not to mention the health, of families and workers who now resort to casual or part-time work.
4. All our State and Federal Governments have committed to environmental measures and the impacts of “climate change” so are bound to retain and develop “clean energy” programs. Will these programs be maintained once electricity becomes a private enterprise.
5. Once the State Government decides to sell off electricity, there will be a conflict of interest: on one hand - to make it more profitable and therefore encourage more liberal use; and on the other hand to encourage energy conservation.
Everyone has their own side to the electricity privatisation story. Have they forgotten the public roads that were cut off to force motorists to use the Cross City Tunnel or the narrowing of the Epping Highway to move more and more motorists into the Lane Cove Tunnel?
I say, keep electricity accountable. Keep it public.
1. Electricity is profitable – saves our State Government from begging for more money from our parent Federal Government. It may give our State Government a big lump sum payment but what happens when it runs out?
2. Our State Government is accountable for it – they have to make sure it keeps working properly. Once it goes into private hands, the accountability for it changes and profits take much more of a priority than accountability.
3. It will prevent yet another industry becoming casualised. Casual work had done so much damage to the living standards, not to mention the health, of families and workers who now resort to casual or part-time work.
4. All our State and Federal Governments have committed to environmental measures and the impacts of “climate change” so are bound to retain and develop “clean energy” programs. Will these programs be maintained once electricity becomes a private enterprise.
5. Once the State Government decides to sell off electricity, there will be a conflict of interest: on one hand - to make it more profitable and therefore encourage more liberal use; and on the other hand to encourage energy conservation.
Everyone has their own side to the electricity privatisation story. Have they forgotten the public roads that were cut off to force motorists to use the Cross City Tunnel or the narrowing of the Epping Highway to move more and more motorists into the Lane Cove Tunnel?
I say, keep electricity accountable. Keep it public.
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