I agree with the Editorial of the Sydney Morning Herald, Feb. 27th, 2008 which explains it thus:

"Environmentalists are opposed on several gounds: the loss of government control over critical assets, and the likely choice of choal as fuel for a new baseload power station - recommended in last September's Owen report. The two issues, though, should be separated.
Whether a privatised power industry would invest in coal-fired generators or other technology can be put to one side.

Privatisation, the transfer of ownership or control of assets to the private sector, is a simple question of management. Are such businesses run better by governments or by private enterprise?

In the absence of any compelling reason for subsidising power supplies, government ownership is simply unnecessary.

The existing generators already operate within the deregulated national electricity market, and will be subject to its competitive pressures. That is the public's guarantee that prices will be kept as low as possible. They should not be held artificially below that, as privatisation's opponents appear to want, because to do so would encourage overuse of electricity. Price should be an important signal for consumers.

Prices may indeed have to rise. Given growing public concern about global warming, consumers should be encouraged to examine critically how they use power, to ensure none is wasted. The environmental lobby has pressed for the introduction of smart electricity meters in NSW.
Some are already in service. These tell householders how much power they are using, and let them tailor their demand on the system.

But demand reduction cannot be the only strategy to meet future needs in a state that expects rapid population growth, and corresponding economic growth, in coming decades. To underpin it, a new, secure supply of baseload power is needed, and the way to fund it is tapping the resources of the private sector.

The Government should not be deflected from continuing with this necessary measure."

Foxy reducing demand, better fuels, even smaller power stations are issues but.
This thread highlights Morris Iemma and his mate are telling us porkys.
If they tell the truth, if they say why they want to place us in the hands of whatever foreign owner they sell to, and if they admit it will cost much more , sell.
I regret the need TAPP to talk to you, sorry honesty again, it is not true that NSW has sold its rail.
Like most of your posts you have got a little truth mixed with a lot of fantasy.
Freight rail Australia wide owns part of the System Rudd is not the leader of NSW.
Stu it is said I run away from you , not true , I place no value on your ability to understand any issue.
One more time it is ALP on the record policy not to sell, of late my party, you highlighted this Stu ,HQ has overridden its members time and again.
Now it or two of its air wasting leaders are intent on over riding the whole party!
My stand is for the ALP not against it, for the union movement not against it.
Public private partnerships? maybe, sell? no way.
Who subsidizers pensioner bills in a private world?

For those who do not live in NSW or even Australia yesterdays NSW press had a Worth while story.
It revealed.
Just before our election unions received a promise that a re elected government had no intention of selling power to any one.
It is a long term policy that we will not do it while my party is in government.
In about 1999 the conservatives lost an election because they went to an election with a plan to sell it.
So apart from the lies , apart from the deliberate attempts to over ride party policy why sell?
Are many aware Victoria power has sent its call centers of shore? to India? that to call up saying power is of may see that message delayed? and repair men come from a very long way away.
I have reviewed my heat in this thread, yes I am a unionist and proud of it.
And a member of the NSW ALP less proud of that this weekend.
My heat is directed mostly at another sell off by my party of unions and the states power users, if just one honest reason had been given I would not be screaming my contempt at this weekends conference.
Just a tiny bit of my heat is generated at claims unions are betraying this state, are part of this lie,
A few more here in these threads who are willing to confront their side of politics may see better outcomes for us all.
Lets put ourselves at some future date ten years after privatization of power will services be ok? prices stable? am I being unrealistic in saying unlikely?

Belly,

It seems to me that the NSW government is about to sell out of a position of extreme advantage on behalf of the public it is supposed to represent.

It has existing coal-fired generating capacity located right on seawater lakes. It has a chronic water supply shortage immediately adjacent to this capacity. There is enormous waste heat loss from this generating capacity suitable for effecting desalination. Should existing coal-fired capacity be adapted to also desalinate with waste heat, solar pond brines can be accumulated over the remaining life of the coal-fired capacity sufficient to entirely replace that capacity with non-polluting solar energy derived electricity.

There is also, I understand, a geo-thermal (hot dry rock) resource located in the upper Hunter region, not too distant from the existing upper Hunter coal-fired generation plant. Does no one in government see the opportunity to solve several supply problems at once, using existing assets to maximum advantage? Electricity is not the only thing that can be transmitted over significant distances: so too can desalinated water, in things called pipes, with the water moved by things called off-peak electric pumps.

Why, when all of the EXISTING assets, plus the legislative power to co-ordinate and facilitate such a plan to not only alleviate foreseen shortages, but switch over to more acceptable sustainable energy sources in the process, are all in hand and co-located, would any government hand them off to private foreign interests having no such plan or policy concerns?

Far Kurnell! Has ALL the vision in this country been relegated to the scrap heap? Why would the community, already owning all the necessary assets to solve anticipated problems, have any need to create room for additional private profit in this well understood activity?

I sense that the public are intentionally being kept in the dark (sadly, no pun intended) with regard to this issue.

Can it be that the Iemma government believes, or indeed knows, that public opinion, as eventually expressed through the ballot box, is irrelevant? How could such a thing possibly be?

If you put aside all the political rhetoric and just look at the
situation which may well exist in 5 to 15 years.
It may well be that a decision to shut down a power plant or build
several more will be have to be made.

Every decision made today has to made with peak oil in mind.
This is where the 2020 conflab went wrong, it took no note of peak oil.

No commercial operation can possibly know what commitments will be needed
in the next 10 years or so.
Will we be in the midst of a severe depression or just a complete
realignment of our whole industrial structure and power systems ?

Only governments are in a position to obtain the resources that
may be needed. The normal commercial sources could well be in
complete disarray. Look at how just a simple misjudgment in lending
has got us into the current mess.
It seems totally unlikely that the commercial world could cope with
a major energy crisis.

There is just too much uncertainty.

Well belly back to the media

suprisingly before the state election i was told that the power industry was going to be sold off.

To that i informed the media and this was after the state saying no we wont, I had also informed the union and actu.

We someone was wrong or just to gullible to believe what labor and the unions said.

I have kept saying that this was going to be sold off and kept being told it wont.

Well seems like labor conferance and labor policy is what this is all about.

Hang on isnt government about the people.

So believe what you want and say what you want as i know the unions havnt been working that hard putting up a fight.

Stuart Ulrich
Independent
Saying what needs and should be said
Not party speaches