The cover story is selling government assets brings cost savings to taxpayers.
Is that true?
We are also told we get better faster service, and the lie it is cheaper.
In NSW under Labor or Liberal it actually brings casualisation to workers.
Bigger costs to consumers.
And bigger profits to those who buy our property.
See already big increases in power bought about by increases in electricity ,to allow a lost government to sell it, so its buyers make more money.
See also the sale of NSW lottery's that sale sweetened by wait for it, gift of 200.000 million in unclaimed prize money.
Betcha thought it was our money, that it would end up subsidizing tax payers not share holders.
The idea workers are the problem aims at poor management and even worse ministers, if true why not fix it?
it is a lie we own much but will sell it who ever governs because privatization is the new blindness.

And it's also a lie that they're even doing it for OUR sake.
I think Bob Carr sufficiently outlines the lifecycle of the Australian (especially NSW) career politician, and why they're actually in politics.

And absolutely correct- privatization is a gigantic scam. Just a way for politicians and their business partners to make a cash out of something they didn't actually have to pay for building up (we did that), and of course hold a monopoly on (as you can't exactly pick and choose which sewerage system you use).

Even if the mob we sold our lotteries to actually paid us properly- the revenue it made would have paid for the cost we sold it for in less than two years, according to the papers.

Every syllable you write is true King Hazza, while I think Carr was our last leader of worth he too lied about privatization.
Our current leader may be ok we will never know, she has no team.
Privatization is often by stealth.
Natural attrition is one way.
As experienced workers retire they are replaced with?contractors.
Growing ever more short of workers, by planned lies, more contractors come in.
NSW Rail is a secc pit, contracts let and paid to family members, often the work did not exist.
Plant owned by working rail staff getting the work, or staff paid bribes to see who gets contracts.
No way this slight of hand, can only be sheeted home to rail.
RTA NSW at least is taking great risk in contracting to firms that do not appear to have the resources to do the job.
To firms who get lock up compounds on RTA land to operate from free from experence of having a depot.
In fact years ago the RTA made a choice to begin enterprise agreements.
Trading of productivity increases and better work out comes for wage rises.
Selected by my peers I became a state Single Bargaining Unit delegate.
RTA trained us to death, and during that training let they keys drop in our laps.
They told us why governments follow advice of public servants and privatize.
Continued

This following policy has not changed then under Nick Grenier next Carr, with Max the AXE Max Moore Wilton as CEO.
Contractors the RTA informed us, may cost more in the short term, do a less than good job[ true you know madness but true]
However in time enough contract firms will grow, acquire skills[at our costs] to actively compete with one another.
Productivity we heard would in time increase and costs fall, enough to pay for initial waste.
We must understand that lie, road construction contracts blow out massively, RTA has more than once been forced to finish work that failed AND pay wages for those firms.
Every day foolish contracts are drawn up for Sydney firms to work in country towns taking local firms work.
AND getting paid accommodation costs for imported workers.
The mantra contracting out fixes anything is evidence we should contract out some Polly's and almost every public servant who holds a managers roll.

Very interesting Belly, and very eye opening (although I did have my suspicions of something along those lines, it's nice to get a detailed analysis).

Probably one of the few conditions I'd support a Bill of Rights is one that states no public asset may be sold without passing through a referendum accessible to the relevant public (on city, state or federal level).

Otherwise our only option is to take note of which public servants, politicians and parties endorse the policy (sadly quite a lot) and start shifting our votes- even if they still win, if the shift is dramatic enough they mightn't be so quick to try it out.

Dear Belly,

With privatisation greed takes over and
the worker (taxpayer) ends up paying for
everything - at a higher cost.

What happens when all public assets have been
sold off - what will they find to sell next?
(The workers and the taxpayers?).

Australia used to have the benefits that
Denmark and Austria have - for example
the state used to take ownership of strategic
industries such as railways, airlines, mines,
banks, radio,TV, tleephone systems, medical
services,universities, and important
manufacturing enterprises such as chemicals
and steel. The economy used to be
regulated in accordance with national priorities.

Today - we're moving closer to an American model.
Be selling off our nationalized industries and
services to private owners. We shall end up in
the same mess as the US is currenlt in - driven
by free enterprise - where the rich get richer -
and poverty is rampant.