The Electrical Trades Union has accused the State Government of lying over asset sales, saying up to $60 million of assets belonging to Ergon Energy are on the market.
The State Government has repeatedly said it will not sell assets such as Ergon Energy or Stanwell without first seeking a mandate at an election.
However Ergon Energy has announced it will sell 3700ha of hardwood forests and its GPS technology business Roames.
The ETU says the sales could net Ergon between $40-$60 million.
“(The government says) one thing – no plans for asset sales – while they do another – sell assets and privatise jobs and services. It is truly breathtaking how they are getting away with such disgraceful behavior,” ETU State Secretary Peter Simpson said.
“The forestry assets are strategic network assets that were developed to enable the timely and safe replacement of Ergon’s close to one million hardwood poles.
“The sale of this asset will leave Ergon exposed to higher costs and potentially unsafe alternatives.
“The IT asset which is up for sale is a strategic asset called ROAMES (Remote Observation, Automated Modelling Economic Simulation) developed by Ergon to manage its 150,000km of powerlines remotely.
“The ETU and the Not4Sale campaign are calling the government out on their continued misleading of the Queensland public. They are selling network electricity assets without a mandate and they are implementing privatisation by stealth in many other areas.
“They promised to seek a mandate before selling assets. They haven’t. They have been caught out.”
