{"id":31919,"date":"2013-04-30T21:15:50","date_gmt":"2013-04-30T11:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=31919"},"modified":"2020-12-18T15:44:14","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T05:44:14","slug":"greens-oppose-asset-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/04\/30\/greens-oppose-asset-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Greens Oppose Asset Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Grant Newson … supporting the Not4Sale campaign<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

April 30, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Greens candidate for Maranoa Grant Newson attended a public forum in Kingaroy on Monday night to voice his opposition to the sale of public assets by the State Government.<\/p>\n

The forum, which was held on the eve of the release of Commission of Audit report,\u00a0outlined the possible consequences of selling off Queensland’s public assets such as the electricity grid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Greens have always held the position of not selling our public assets,\u201d Mr Newson said.<\/p>\n

” ‘Outsourcing’ is just privatisation by another name, and the LNP has embraced outsourcing in just about every area of government responsibility. \u00a0Transport, health, education, rural fire brigades, aged care – it’s all up for sale.<\/p>\n

“The LNP keeps chanting a mantra about privatisation reducing Queensland’s oppressive debt and restoring the State’s financial strength and security, which tells you they’ve already made up their minds before they even ask the electorate.<\/p>\n

“They have closed their minds to analysis from the likes of\u00a0The Australia Institute\u00a0which just yesterday blamed privatisation for driving up electricity costs, and economist\u00a0Dr John Quiggin\u00a0at the University of Queensland, who concluded recently that the sale of Queensland electricity assets has been put forward as a way to reduce electricity prices and improve the State\u2019s financial position (but) in reality, it will achieve neither of these goals.”<\/p>\n

Mr Newson said $720 million was generated for the State Government from the electricity grid in the 2011-12 financial year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat money was income reinvested into the economy through health, roads and many other essential services that constantly need funds,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou lose the income from these industries once they are no longer public assets.\u00a0 All the profit goes into the pocket of the owners, shareholders and massive payouts for CEOs like it did for Telstra.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegional communities will lose the smaller depots, staff will be laid off, services will drop and investment into research and development will cease.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at it this way … if you have a mortgage of $300,000 and you sell your car for $20,000, you still have a $280,000 mortgage to pay off \u2013 but no car.\u00a0What\u2019s the point?\u201d<\/p>\n

Queensland Greens Senate candidate Adam Stone said the LNP’s response to the Costello Commission’s audit report showed that they were “already halfway down the path to privatisation, whatever they may say about waiting for a mandate”.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the time the LNP get around to asking Queenslanders how they feel about privatisation at the next election, it will be a moot point,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Government buildings and facilities will be full of private operators and we’ll just be debating whether we sell the buildings, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n