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The Forum > Article Comments > No sweetening the salty tale of water privatisation > Comments

No sweetening the salty tale of water privatisation : Comments

By Acacia Rose, published 25/11/2011

The 'corporatisation decade' has salted the once sweet taste of clean, publicly owned water and the guarantee of well-maintained, safe and affordable public water utilities.

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Acacia Rose paints a chillingly accurate picture of the direction in which the most essential of our natural resources is becoming increasingly under the control of government and corporations.

Not only 'ownership' but also health, safety and environmental issues are ignored in the scramble for the almighty dollar, and I strongly suspect, kickback.

I would add to the list of dirty deeds done for dollars, the Qld Labor Govts compulsory fluoridation scheme.

I'd like to sell 100 megalitres of irrigation water for which there isn't a huge market in my area at the moment. The Qld Govts subsiduary Sunwater charges me about $9000 a year to hold it in their dam and I couldn't even give it back to them if I wanted to. I can't lease it to industrial users or Local Govt for town supply - even though water from the scheme will be essentially 'confiscated' and reallocated for such purpose in times of need. No compensation though. You thinking - that doesn't make sense? Remember it is 'Government' we're talking about. So I sit on it until the market is right or begin to advertise in China?
Posted by divine_msn, Friday, 25 November 2011 9:58:20 AM
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There have certainly been a lot of mistakes in our handling of water allocations over the past decades but I don’t see any solutions being proffered here.
No doubt our farmers need water and our people need drinking water as do the various birds, plants and animals roaming around the place.

Judging by the tenor of this piece it would seem the author wants to use the heavy handed and unimaginative club of legislation and governmental rules to “fix” the problems and force a compliance to her way of thinking. This is the same process that got us to this point.

The capitalist in me says to let the free enterprise system work things out. Let the price of water rise to the demand. When the price becomes high enough there will be entrepreneurs that will build desalinization plants.
Let the idiots that decided it was a good thing to grow rice and cotton in the desert go out of business. If farmers can’t afford to pay the water bill maybe they are farming in the wrong place or using very old technology. BTW Israel has some excellent technology for minimalist watering in an arid country.

In the mean time let those that want a green lawn pay the price and maybe we should import more of our food from places with an abundance of water.
Posted by Bruce, Friday, 25 November 2011 10:09:10 AM
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Bruce, Of course much of Israel's applied politics in relation to its various neighbours is also about access to and control of water sources, especially rivers.
As indeed is much of the politics in that part of the world. Even more so in the future.

No so called free market principles operating there. Free for the taking by those with the most powerful army.

The same water wars situation is and will also be the case in much of the rest of the world
Posted by Daffy Duck, Friday, 25 November 2011 12:42:46 PM
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You don't need to look much past the Cochamba water situation in Bolivia back in 2000 or the 46% post-privatisation price hikes that happened in the UK to see what's planned for our public water supplies.

Private de-sal plants are a handy way to let the private operators get a foot in the door.

From there it's only a short leap to private distribution and then another to full private ownership of supplies as well.
Posted by wobbles, Saturday, 26 November 2011 11:04:59 PM
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We are witnessing the corporate take over of our country.The robber barons want it all.
Posted by Arjay, Sunday, 27 November 2011 9:08:24 AM
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The utilities are privatetised, so what, the govt; calls the shots on the quality of it. If it is left in govt ; hands you would label it communism. You have a choice, if you do not like it do not use it, or drink it, there are alternatives. De sal; plants are very handy in times of drought, no good waiting for a drought to happen before you build one. It takes years.
Posted by 579, Sunday, 27 November 2011 4:52:36 PM
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Barry O'Farrell must be booted out of office and in the interim we must make him as unpopular in the polls as Nathan Reese was.

We expect NSW government to be responsible for high power prices as they are bringing 2 million Indians to Sydney to make that electricity more expensive. Why? So Barry can drive limousines and we can all sit on street corners with begging bowls.

When we, the public say, Barry, We want lower prices for electricity or water we DO NOT want to hear him say its a private matter and I can't do a damn thing about it. That's not why spilt blood & fought wars to get professional Government.

Privatising water is the same political cop-out. It is fundamentally anti-democracy, pro-aristocracy government that has no business in NSW.

We should all stand with the Police in their demonstrations against this self serving Greineresque ablution of government and tear it down ASAP.

I don't see why O'Farrell should stay another minute let alone another 12 years. This 'too big to fail' corporation tool is capable of turning NSW into another Libya or Egypt.
Posted by KAEP, Sunday, 27 November 2011 11:57:13 PM
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Privatisation should not be allowed in this country, unless it makes a few adjustments to who needs the water the most, and where. For example, crops such as tomatoes, rice and cotton should never be grown in Australia, maybe in heavy rainfall areas such as the NT., the water usage is huge. There is enough rice coming in from other countries where rainfall is plentiful. Cotton farming uses a heap of water, and much of it should be grown in the region of Asia and Southern America.
Providing that companies are honest and able to find a fine balance between different crops needing ex amount of water that makes the growing of same and crops being grown just for the sake of it.
Privatisation is OK in the overall scheme of things, sadly some members of Parliament cannot see beyond Canberra, and often have no idea about the needs of rural Australia.
Posted by Noisy Scrub Bird, Monday, 28 November 2011 6:11:36 PM
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Privatization of utilities is a great advantage. It puts downward pressure on costs.
First you have commodity collectors.
Then commodity suppliers.
The first one is if you do not have the infrastructure you do not have the commodity to sell.
The suppliers are who is willing to sell you the commodity at a curtain price. There can be a host of commodity collectors and a host of commodity suppliers.
Think of the bigger picture, it can be Gas, Water, Power.
Why would you not want a market that was in competition.
Posted by 579, Monday, 28 November 2011 6:30:34 PM
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That's it 579!

Confuse the hell out of them.

You've even made ME forget the corruption of the American free market system that is based on evil ARBITRAGE and mega-Trillions of phony US dollar bills that even Julia has been suckerd with.

But can you come up with a potion that puts the cops to sleep while we ram 'em up the rear end?

I'd be so ever grateful mate.

Yours eternally,

Barry O'Farrell

PS When Sydney gets the extra 2 million Indians I am promised and electricity is $1 per KWH I'll make sure you get yours free. Mums the word now. And If you end up on the street like the other NSW sods that think this is a DEMOCraCy I will make sure your begging bowl is the biggest.
Posted by KAEP, Monday, 28 November 2011 8:20:57 PM
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I do not see comparison between the US system and the Au system of govt;
A different breed of fish all together. Govt; are experts at nothing. which includes utilities. They should not be in business of selling commodities. It takes private enterprise to maintain infrastructure, to a level of reliability. Govt; will call the shots on the quality of product, to be offered for sale. I do not see any problem at all in privatization of utility services.
Posted by 579, Tuesday, 29 November 2011 10:12:49 AM
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PSST! HEY 579,

I got this nice earner of a brigeedige across Sydney Harbour.

I can sell it to ya - for $600.

Interested?

Barry O'Farrell

Prime Minister

NSW

Mandated by the people of NSW to be GOD eternal.
Posted by KAEP, Tuesday, 29 November 2011 8:26:14 PM
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From KAEB: "Govt; are experts at nothing. which includes utilities. They should not be in business of selling commodities. It takes private enterprise to maintain infrastructure, to a level of reliability"

Is this comment taken directly from the Handbook of Conservative Myths and Mantras by any chance KAEB? As a consumer of electricity, water and gas I was perfectly happy with the quality of service available from the public utilities. Not to mention the fact that every time I paid a bill not one cent of my money went into the bloated accounts of overseas investors. "Private is good, private is more efficient" is total claptrap and and an insult to the very professional people who ran our utilities.

Have you been on a long distance rail journey recently KAEB? Since the privatisation of many of the services? I have and I would have to say that I could see no improvement in the service at all - just the opposite in fact! As I see it, when profit is all that matters,then profit IS all that matters!
Posted by teddy the beagle, Tuesday, 6 December 2011 1:53:17 PM
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