To me, privatisation is like a homebuyer complaining that the mortgage is too high, then selling the house and giving away the proceeds to friends and supporters and later renting the same house at a higher cost than before.

It's the theft of public assets by a group of individuals for the sake of short-term political gain and ideology.

Despite so-called enlightened private ownership and management, Telstra, the Commonwealth Bank and QANTAS have not exactly been success stories as far as the consumer goes. When it comes to services, Efficient is not the same as Effective.

The push for privatisation and other fads like Public-Private Partnerships were actually policies promoted and encouraged by International bodies like the WTO and weren't dreamed up independently by local politicians.

Give me the top 6 anti union posters in this forum, followed by the top 6 anti ALP ones.
Let the group grow, give me 6 of the strongest supporters of both sides of the house.
Give them the powers of a Royal commission and let them look only at NSW.
After months every one of them would see and vote as one, privatization costs tax payers more for less.
And at times looks very much like the worst Asian country for kick backs and out right corruption.
Look at Victoria , yes that man got them out of debt, but sold rail even Ambulances England sold its water, gas electricity,
NSW intends to let non medical people drive Ambulances, here on blood highway the Pacific.
We must cut costs, give better services, employ only the very best.
But we continue to be beaten up by people we voted for, selling our power stations, not yet we fought and won but with only a hint of ALP in the coming Parliament it is gone.
Look see why power went up, to make it attractive to buyers.
To thieve from rate payers.
no nothing to do with climate change increased costs to profit private buyers.
I have more.

I am a unionist, proudly till death.
My view is unions exist only for members and fairness, that every fair days pay warrants a fair days work.
A flat spot in my life bought me to the then DMR now RTA in the 1970s
It was a very active place over 8.000 workers in NSW.
Work got done, drains cleaned every year batters graded , true road protection.
You could walk in to any office and see idleness house plans being drawn up not much work.
No understanding of the tasks they managed or the workers.
A change came in the 1990,s, some one at last shook the office tree.
EBA came out door staff lead in vital changes lets do it once do it right was the workers theme.
It died, office strangulation had its way.
Long ago I had became union delegate, long ago found office staff did not want to hear had no need to hear or perform.
I remember head union delegate put a crews request to management, can you sack the laborer who is drunk every day? who is in the shed now to drunk to move?
My answer? do not be so bloody silly the union would never allow it!
Not true it was our request.
ever believe other than this governments want to privatize, do not want workers to improve or be trained weeds are left in government gardens to let those who fail to understand truth say the garden must be re dug.
Give me the biggest red neck who can manage, put him in charge of ANY government run thing, he will sack more public servants than workers.
Who could not do better?
Privatization is an open door to bribery and higher costs surely if we try to keep it in our hands truly try it can work?
Former government managers are now? selling services to the old bosses, greed is endemic self interest and greed from those we let run free is shameful.

True Wobbles- and let's not forget the "success" stories like Lane Cove Road (and the tunnel beneath), and Sydney Airport (whose only outstanding features are forcing people to pay through the nose to park there).

Foxy- I think Australia will fare worse than America if we privatized- because we as citizens and consumers are simply ripped off in every sector, including purchases (our fast-food, beer, movie tickets, music, games and supermarket products are WAY more expensive, and our companies are fewer with larger monopolies)- it makes no difference to our privatized assets (except that the owners would know Australians are used to getting ripped off to the point they don't even believe in any other way)- but it will simply add to our troubles.

Belly- that's pretty sad- although not surprising considering what kind of selected senior reps in public service are placed in the positions and why...

Dear Belly,

I can understand your concern.

However, I'm even more concerned about
the current Front-Bench of the Opposition.
They seem to represent more conservative
views. Views that believe that neither
government nor associations of working people
(unions), should be able to restrict the
proper application of capital (money) in the
economy. People, in their view, either sink or
swim. And if they sink, well that's too bad.
Because in their view, welfare is not good
for business.

Still, we're in critical times and Australia requires
a reassessment of the relationship between labour
and capital, a reassessment which takes into account the
politics of industrial democracy, profit and job sharing,
and long term planning which allows for the proper
proetection and preservation of our environment.

What we don't need is the "kick-the-worker-today-and-
take-the-money-tomorrow," attitude that comes from
some of the people who are currently at work around
the place.

The only way in which the country can work properly
is for management and labout to co-operate with one
another, not condemn one another. But the sad truth
is that condemnation appears to be the only language
the current Opposition appear to understand. I'm sorry
that Malcolm Turnbull has decided to leave politics.
He was a good man - and would have made an excellent
leader of the Opposition.

Dear King Hazza,

I agree - Australia would be worse off than America -
were it to continue to go down the privatization route.
Our population is far smaller. People are less prepared to
take risks and we're at least thirty years behind the US.

So do you think if the government had responsibility to produce all goods and services, this would be more economical?

But if it's not true as to the whole, what makes it true as to part?