April 30, 2013
The union movement has reacted angrily to today’s State Government announcement that it will “investigate” selling off Stanwell Corporation, CS Energy, QIC, the Port of Gladstone and the Port of Townsville.
The Queensland Council of Unions, the Electrical Trades Union and the Services Union issued statements today critical of the move, saying the State Government was attempting to introduce “privatisation by stealth” and warned that selling the State’s power generating companies to private enterprise would lead to higher electricity prices, job losses in rural and regional communities and reduced network reliability.
The Queensland Council Of Unions said Queenslanders had every right to remain suspicious about Premier Campbell Newman’s claims of a retreat from the privatisation which had been recommended in the final Commission of Audit Report.
QCU President John Battams said the LNP’s record on job cuts and slashing frontline services had given Queenslanders “thousands of reasons” to distrust the State Government.
Mr Battams said QCU research showed more than 80 per cent of Queenslanders don’t support privatisation and outsourcing.
“Queenslanders today can claim a victory against this government’s blatant plan to sell major public assets. They have stood up and said they want the government to own and operate public assets and services,” Mr Battams said.
“But there’s plenty of evidence to show this is an arrogant government that threatens the worst, then pulls back under public pressure and tries to convince Queenslanders they are doing us a favour.
“We saw it with the 20,000 job cuts reduced to 14,000, with the pledge that frontline services would not be cut and then sacking nurses and firefighters.
“The government has shifted its language from ‘asset sales’ to ‘outsourcing’ and ‘contestability’, which is really privatisation through the back door.”
He said unions were now planning a major campaign to expose the impacts of outsourcing on the delivery of services to Queenslanders.
The Electrical Trades Union also said they feared massive job losses and higher prices if the Commission of Audit Report was implemented.
ETU Secretary Peter Simpson said the union would “vehemently oppose any moves to privatise or outsource jobs” and warned that the report contained “some real nasties”.
“If the outsourcing models of the Costello Report and the recommendations of the Independent Review Panel are implemented, a further 300 frontline jobs will be gone along with the closure of up to 30 regional depots across the electricity supply network in Queensland,” he said.
“Add to this the impact felt by the closing and outsourcing of publicly owned power stations and you have a bleak picture and another kick in the guts for regional Queenslanders who are already seeing essential services defunded and stripped from their communities.
“Queenslanders know privatising essential services like electricity fails.
“They look at Victoria’s private, overseas-owned network and its maintenance issues and they say ‘we don’t want that’. They look at South Australia where electricity prices are among the most expensive in the world and they say ‘no thanks’.
“History shows outsourcing jobs changes the focus from service to profit and will have the same impact on prices and reliability as if the assets were privatised in full – that is, prices go up and reliability suffers while job opportunities are stripped from regional towns
“Queenslanders need and expect a strong and reliable network with a highly skilled workforce to respond to extreme weather events. Selling energy assets and outsourcing essential jobs will put private profits before essential services.”
He called on the Queensland community to hold the State Government to account by writing to their local MP to see where they stood on asset sales and outsourcing.
“They cannot be allowed to implement policies that are not in the public interest.”
The Services Union expressed similar views.
Services Union Secretary Kath Nelson said there was no doubt the political consequence of community opposition to privatisation had spooked the State Government in its response to the audit recommendations.
“What the LNP Government has proposed is privatisation by stealth and I have every confidence that our communities will see straight through it,” Ms Nelson said.
“It is absurd to say we will still own the poles, wires, trains and ports, whilst behind the scenes, outsourcing en masse is occurring.
“Buildings and poles don’t provide services, people do. The network will not maintain itself, nor will it repair itself after extreme weather or natural disasters.”
“Privatisation has delivered steep electricity prices increases in South Australia, NSW and Victoria which are rated third, fourth and fifth highest in the world respectively. Queensland is now set to join them as one the most expensive places in the world for electricity.
“Due to the actions of the State Government, Queenslanders will be hit with a massive 21.4 per cent electricity price increase from July 1,” Ms Nelson said.
“Outsourcing entire sections of the operation of these businesses and its workforce will only add to the cost. The data from interstate clearly shows that privatisation and outsourcing will do nothing except increase electricity prices for Queenslanders.
“Rather than act to protect Queensland, the Government is outsourcing work to be sold to the highest bidder.
“In the meantime, this puts the price and reliability of our Queensland owned and operated services at risk.”
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