The Meandu coal mine at Tarong has been marked for sale after the next State election
(Photo: Stanwell)

June 3, 2014

The Tarong and Tarong North power stations and Meandu coal mine will be sold if the LNP State Government is re-elected.

No longer rumour or union speculation, it is official State Government policy as announced in today’s State Budget.

Treasurer Tim Nicholls said the electricity businesses of Stanwell Corporation and CS Energy, Ergon Energy’s retail’s arm, SunWater’s industrial pipeline business and “other non-core business functions such as a coal mine”  would be sold.

The ports of Townsville and Gladstone and the Mt Isa rail line would be leased, and “private sector investment” would be invited into Powerlink, Energex and the remainder of Ergon Energy.

A government media release states: “None of the proposed transactions would take place until the government has secured a mandate for them at the next State election.”

Mr Nicholls said the transactions could “potentially deliver proceeds of $33.6 billion” .

He said three-quarters of this amount, $25 billion, would be used to pay down the State debt to $55 billion.

“The new debt level would mean Queensland’s annual interest bill would drop from $4 billion to $2.7 billion,” Mr Nicholls said.

“We proposed to then deposit the remaining quarter of the proceeds, about $8.6 billion, in the new Strong Choices Investment Program, a suite of new infrastructure funds designed to build more schools, hospitals, roads and other vital infrastructure during the next six years.”

Mr Nicholls said the Strong Choices Investment Program would include:

  • Rural and Regional Roads Fund – $1.5 billion
  • South East Queensland Roads Fund – $1.5 billion
  • Public Transport Rail Infrastructure Fund – $1 billion
  • Bus and Train Project – $1 billion
  • Future Schools Fund – $1 billion
  • Rural and Regional Economic Development Fund – $700 million
  • Local Government Co-Investment Fund – $500 million
  • Future Fund (Natural Disasters) – $500 million
  • Entrepreneurial and Innovation Fund – $500 million
  • Community Hospitals Fund – $300 million
  • Cultural Infrastructure Fund – $100 million.

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6 Responses to "Power Stations, Mine Marked For Sale"

  1. Could this mean Kingaroy gets a new hospital finally with the sale of assets? I have to admit I would back that as I hardly think the Stanwell assets will disappear if they go into private hands.

  2. According to our local MP (not for much longer I hope) it isn’t a asset sale, they are “recycled assets”.

  3. Correct me if I am wrong but didn’t the state LNP tell us we were 80 billion in debt but now we are 55 billion ??? where has the other 25billion gone?? into a wisp called the slush fund

    • Sorry Barbara … you’re wrong. If you read it again, you’ll see it says “$25 billion would be used to pay down the State debt to $55 billion”, ie they will pay $25 billion off the $80 billion, which leaves … $55 billion.

  4. Hi Pete – It would be an asset sale. Obviously the recycled money would go to more assets/infrastructure AND to pay down Labor’s $80 billion debt.

  5. We’re bombarded with facts and figures to inform us why power prices have increased, so a leap of faith is required. Will there be any reduction in prices? This is doubtful, as seen in southern states privatisation of power assets only exacerbated the affordability problem of domestic power.

    Considering the measures taken to control power prices in recent years, staff reductions at power plants, mines and the distribution network, this seems to have had little effect on pricing and no sign of any downward movement to date. A suspicious mind would consider this a conspiracy to artificially inflate electricity asset values to entice private investment whilst ignoring increased hardship amongst costumers to facilitate the sale of public owned facilities.

    The question is should profits go to private investors’ pockets or be reinvested into building and maintaining our public-owned power system? Public opinion is the only means available to influence pricing but this tool will be lost upon privatisation, disadvantaging domestic consumers and business faring little better.

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