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The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC
Australian Labor Party
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Sydney NSW 2000
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Fax: 02 9230 2589
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What happened with electricity privatisation this week?
Submitted by Penny Sharpe on Fri, 16/05/2008 - 12:10pm.
How NSW ensures continued energy supplies into the future is at the heart of the electricity debate. Who is best (public or private or a combination of both) to provide the energy? Who should pay? What are the costs to the government with any given option? Are there environmental implications to any option that is chosen? How are workers and consumers protected? I have outlined my position in relation to this matter previously.
Since the state conference resolution there have been meetings between the unions, the Labor Party officers and the Government. There has been agreement and movement on some issues, particularly in relation to job security and consumer protections. The outstanding sticking point remains the public ownership issue. I believe that a solution can be found but there needs to be a genuine commitment to get there.
This week in the parliament the Greens put forward a procedural bill to ensure that legislation would be put forward in relation to the transfer of assets. This bill was adjourned until when we next sit.
The Premier then gave notice in the parliament of legislation that is to come forward when parliament again sits. There remains many MP's who either outright oppose the legislation or are very troubled by it. Some are opposed to privatisation, others are troubled by the conflict this legislation has with Labor Party policy as determined by our conference. The left within the party have remained opposed to privatisation on every occasion that it has come up and yesterday moved to have the legislation deferred until the process set out by conference was finalised. This motion was defeated.
Discussions continue.
electricity privatisation
Penny,
Your statement is excellent on the issue of privatisation, but as I think you would have to agree the situation has got beyond the point where general statements of opposition are sufficient. There is a very substantial civil war going on the labor movement in this State, on which the whole future of the movement depends. What matters now is what actions people, including Parliamenarians take at every level in the movement. Clearly the first stage revolves around the State Caucus. In my view, any good left winger as you are, has a moral obligation to your supporters in the movement, to exert every piece of pressure that you can muster, particularly on our colleagues the Left Ministers, and the Right Ministers for that matter, to vote against privatisation in the Caucus, putting aside the now superceded convention of Cabinet solidarity. Clearly, if the Left Ministers were to do so they might start an avalanche of people voting against in Caucus. If they don't, that plays into Costa and Iemma's hands. In addition, every parliamentarian opposed to the sale, should make the same announcement as Lynda Voltz and Ian West that they will vote against privatisation in the parliament. We have only got a week or so to resolve these questions. General statements on privatisation are no longer sufficient. I would like your views on these matters. Bob Gould, an old hand in the ALP
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