Keep Power in our Hands
Despite an overwhelming majority of consumers wanting essential services like electricity to remain in public hands, the NSW Government is still trying to privatise the NSW power industry. Premier Rees intends to sell the retail arms of Energy Australia, Integral Energy and Country Energy along with their generation development sites.
Despite the original privatisation plan being rejected by voters and the NSW Parliament, Premier Rees still believes he can sell our electricity industry to make a quick buck.
The Victorian Experience:
Privatisation of electricity comes with many problems. Fifteen years after the Kennett Government privatised Victoria’s electricity, the States’ main employer group, the Chamber of Commerce, wants the current Government to take back control of the power industry.
The main reason for the request? While privatisation of the Victorian power industry provided significant profits to private companies, there has been no investment in new infrastructure to meet long term needs, because it reduces company profits. This has meant the long term interests of consumers and taxpayers have not been looked after.
Selling electricity is a risky business, and all around the world there are examples of why it does not work.
Privatisation of electricity in Victoria, Canada, Brazil, the UK, New Zealand and the USA, has resulted in numerous problems including:
- • Higher electricity prices
- • Less reliable services and supply for business and consumers
- • Fewer jobs in rural and regional areas, as jobs are cut or go offshore
A similar scheme to the one proposed by Premier Rees was introduced in Alberta, Canada. Instead of lower prices, more reliable services and greater choice, consumers experienced:
- • Price increases (up 500% between June and October 2000);
- • The government having to provide $2.3 billion in subsidies to keep electricity prices down
- • Severe blackouts
- • Lack of investment in power infrastructure to meet future needs
- • Job losses
- • Collusion between sellers meaning electricity was sold at prices well above the cost of production
What can we do?
You can get involved in the Stop the Sell-Off campaign by following these simple steps and downloading the following documents.
- • Hand out the Stop the Sell-Off flier to people in your community.
- • Ask people to sign the Stop the Sell-off petition and return completed petitions to Unions NSW.
- • Sign and date our template letter and send to Premier Nathan Rees.
Additional Information:
To find out more about the overseas experiences of electricity privatisation, download:
- • The British Columbia Experience by Rick Wallace for the Parkland Institute, University of Alberta.
- • Alberta Power Bills will Crush Consumers from the Edmonton Journal, Aug 2009.
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Come on. We need to stop it NOW
mmmmmm…..bit late fellas. The retail has been sold off and our Premier is no longer Rees (as he got the arse quite some time ago) and I’m still yet to see any strikes or any sort of industrial action against our Mafia Mates in Sydney. WTF is happening to this State. Hong Kong owns our power, Singapore our Gas, the Chinese our farms, and our Mines…..don’t get me started. For Christ sake, why are we just sitting on our hands?
Dear Keiran
I read with interest your email and completely agree with you. 18 months ago we sent letters, emails and received letters back assuring us that energy would not be sold off. Do we trust the government anymore, I think not.
You are right too the unions have done little but the government shackled them years ago, it looks as if they are again coming to the fore, if they unite as they are doing and have support from the people anything is possible before we own absolutely nothing.
Even China was clever enough to give England a 99 year lease on Hong Kong why we are selling everything to overseas consortiums is unbelievable who is making the money.
France has laws (government) that makes this sort of sell of illegal Australian Governments better have a look at the French Constitution. And I ask the question is it legal to sell tax payer utilities owned by the people – the government is suppose to work for us!!!!!!!
So glad that you have strong feelings about what is going on if more Australians stood together and had their say Governments might listen.
I know it is too late but even a Canadian town is buying back their energy because they found they ended up paying 500% for the their energy and the government is now buying the power stations and infrastructure back.
So nice to talk to someone who feels the same as I do.
Keep the words flowing
Regards, Jeanette 3/1/11