Pander to China, not panda!

Are you seriously saying that we should allow the Chinese or any other foreign group to take control of our power stations?

It will be a case of "poor fellow, my country" if we let foreigners control our water and power.

Would the Chinese allow Australians to get control of their power stations? That's a laugh.

Why are the Chinese buying our big acreages like Cubbie Station. Why are they buying up ports all over the world..Piraeus in Greece for instance.

Foreign investment, yes.

Foreign control, no.

This must become an election issue.

The public who own the power stations have already said NO to the fire sale of their generating assets.
I wouldn't mind if those wishing to privatise power? Flagged it as a solid pre election commitment!
In any event, the NSW Govt. has another option, which remains untried in this country.
Namely, self terminating 30 year infrastructure bonds.
It's about time govts of all political persuasion stopped trying to duck shove their traditional role and or Management responsibilities? Instead of trying to privatise almost everything.
Mr. O'Farrell, if you're not up to the job, don't reapply for it!
I can see no actual example, where privatisation has actually produced cheaper power?
In fact, those few remaining public suppliers in the US, seem to be around or up to 400% cheaper than the privatised examples?
Don't talk to me about natural cost! Natural cost doesn't include doubled debt, and or, the endless demands for basically unearned income, to pay off the very debt instruments created to buy these cash cows from us. I mean, we the people have paid for these things once already!
So, not only do we lose the asset, but then are burdened with repaying all the capital outlays required for the change of ownership.
Which is then followed by repatriated profits/price gouging and gold plating; and hitherto unknown, massive tax avoidance.
So, we the former owners, stand to just lose/lose/lose.
As others have noted, we couldn't replicate this proposal in China!
Hey, that's maybe because their leaders are a lot brighter and vastly more competent, than our core responsibility avoiders?
Rhrosty.

i hate seeing both sides
china needs info..needs to find employment opportunities for billions
it needs to update and access the best info..best assets..to assure international cashflow

belly is right re infrastructure bonds
in fact our super should be bonded...bound for infrastructure alone

currently little known..
is your employer..sold his shop..to himself

now pays rent into a cheap tax state..
then claims rent as business expense..[lol]..paid to himself..lol..with a nice tax free slush fund in say netherlands..giving em great tax free income..paid with your super

the ripoff all-round is huge
many now get deductable tax rates..
when before they would be too rich to get any govt cash
but thanks be to the 60%..of our pol-lies..

[who are /were lawyers]..the rich get richer..and the poor mugs get evermore tax on everything..then in the end their super is inflated into nuthingness..

so what who owns what..
you certainly dont..own...*NOR CONTROL it now
or else why would you get slugged..with exon/like pricing on your energy

your govts gave up years ago
they arnt there for you..only to tax you to death

once ghandi complained re a tax on salt
americans complained about a tax on tea

now we only complain..when the tax falls on thee
yet laugh when it falls on me..your time will come
first the natzies went after the old sick feeble and infirm..

in time they will come for you
be it yanks/japs/chinks/nips..or chinese..

karma comes suddenly..
but surely..hate breeds hate
love other before its too late..you shall*..'get'..as you gave*

be nice..while you can*

This is a useful discussion, though some posts seem to have been written with glass in hand.

It's worth remembering the privatisation of Sydney airport.

It was sold off and thus helped the Howard government balance its books.

What are we left with?
One airport which pretends to serve Sydney's needs ...and manifestly inadequate.
Clogged roads around the airport..it's taking 35 to 45 minutes to reach it from suburbs close by
Rising noise levels and threats of those increasing to make many of the Eastern suburbs ghastly air noise corridors.
A long walk from the entry point to the plane past endless shops

In short, a public asset was privatised and has become a cash cow for Macq Bank. The public can go to hell, as usual.

Private enterprise means privatise the profits, share the losses.

Keep power stations in Australian hands ,

i of course.. meant ..ENRON*..pricing
but if you think it's..china you must fear

try watching these vidio's...how goes the saying..keep thy friend close but keep thy foes closer...

realize/ your living others dream$..your *needs
nightmare$/fears worries concern$..ill-health.. [sickness]..are their cashflow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j615aokEA_Y

dont miss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iswT3PfMec

The Asians were crazy to try and take over Australia in 1941 using bullets and bayonets. If they had waited until 2013 and come down with their cheque books, Jonathon Ariel would have sold them the whole place.

...Australians are being "led by the nose" straight into a trap...Then again what is an Australian? Lets simply give all Chinese with financial interests in Australia, Australian citizenship...That solves the problem of foreign ownership: It also solves the problem of four out of every ten property sales in Australia ending in Chinese hands as well....All in the name of Multiculturalism... Trust British paints..Rat-a Tat-Tat...Sure Can.

Bronte you said:

“Are you seriously saying that we should allow the Chinese or any other foreign group to take control of our power stations?

It will be a case of "poor fellow, my country" if we let foreigners control our water and power”.

Bronte, the question we should ask is "why must NSW taxpayers have billions locked up in power stations when those funds can be released and be used to fund more essential activities like police, fire and ambulances"?

I am not proposing to let any future owner of MacGen do what he wants with the asset. ANY owner regardless of domicile would have to operate the facility subject to NSW regulations and laws.

As to your point on the privatisation of Sydney Airport, I agree with you. That was very poorly handled by the Howard gov’t. As was PJ Keating’s sale of Australian Airlines to the near monopolist (Qantas).

Surely the answer is not “no privatisations” but rather “privatisations that serve the taxpayers’ interests. The NSW taxpayers in this case.

If it cannot be shown that taxpayers are better off with a privatisation then it should not go ahead.

I have worked on NSW power stations and switchyards, JJA, and I have seen with my own eyes the blatant drunkenness, featherbedding, and over manning of ELCOM assets. If you want to privatise this industry, then go right ahead. One good reason why I stopped advocating Socialism, was because I realised that if ELCOM was a reflection of socialist efficiency, no wonder the USSR was just Botswanaland with a ICBM's and a space program.

My beef is with selling these crucial assets to a country which just happens to be a potential enemy. The Chinese have a different idea to western people when it comes to commerce. Anything which makes a buck is OK. I personally think that if we give every asset we have to the Chinese, they will run the places only for the benefit of the Chinese, and they will not make much notice of our employment or taxation laws.

I have not seen any non Chinese working in Chinese reastaurants,. and one suspects that if we give our power stations to Chinese control, sooner or later every employee of these power stations will be Chinese. We will no have a clue what they are being paid, because every one of them will be a new immigrant who will sign his contract in China. There was one incident on a "Chinese" building site in Sydney, where a Chinese worker was badly hurt. His own employer's goons snatched him from hospital and stuck him on the first Cathay Pacific flight headed for China. He was still wearing his hospital pyjamas.

Workers form China are cheap, if you don't bother with things like workers comp., holiday pay or leave loadings.

The tradition of al Asians to never put their money in the bank so that governments can monitor your taxable income, is another indicator that Asians are not to be trusted with the responsibility of critical Australian infrastructure. The ENRON scandal in the USA is indicative of how dangerous it is to give people who have no concept of western morality a free hand in Australia

This is becoming a useful discussion.

All very well to let the Chinese take control of our water, our power stations,
, our land. Why should they support any of our traditional values . There are enough stories now about people locked up without trial and workers working for a pittance.

Meanwhile the Chinese are buying up large chunks
of land in Sydney and Melbourne. And installing their kids in houses near selective schools.. Something I 've seen with my own eyes.

When the Chinese tip you out of your houses and dominate the educational institutions, people like this author will realise their mistake. All too late.

Bronte,
It'll be interesting how the chinese will deal with the boat people once they get enough control if we get another ALP Government. Just because he speaks chinese doesn't give Kevin the right to sell us out to them.

Jonathon is displaying gross ignorance in economics. If we had our own Govt banking system with 4 State banks and the Commonwealth as in the past, there would be no need to be a serf to Chinese or US Federal Reserve finance.

When economies grow they need an oil called money as the medium of exchange, however now our productivity + inflation is totally created as debt,mostly by private OS central banks. Unless we flog off our resources for a song, the debt can never be repaid.

Under this insane system of private debt money creation, the more productivity we have, the more debt we incur. We are being penalised for working harder.

It's easy to get on with the Chinese rulers. Just give them everything they want.

It's a state which achieves a lot. But try disagreeing with them, or starting an argument about ethical issues. There's enough Australians in Chinese gaols for small peccadillos.
You can't argue with the Chinese government. Mao himself said there's not much point in human rights: the main thing was to feed the Chinese masses. At the cost of anyone who gets in the way.