The Tasman Bridge which crosses the River Derwent in Hobart. Photo: penny from pixabay
Plans to privatise Tasmanian public services have already prompted a strong reaction from the Opposition and union.
In his address to state parliament on Tuesday, March 4, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff flagged privatisation as a non-tax solution to paying off state debt.
“This is an administration founded on a belief that wherever possible government should not compete with an efficient private sector,” he said.
“Why should the government own businesses when there is not an overwhelming public benefit in doing so?”
Rockliff identified Metro, the Motor Accidents Insurance Board, TasNetworks (with a 99-year lease), Momentum Energy and the Land Titles Office as possible targets for privatisation even as he ruled out Hydro Tasmania.
RTBU UNION
Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Byron Cubit had a reply in 24 hours.
“Metro is owned by the people of Tasmania and is operated for the people of Tasmania,” he said.
“Public transport needs to stay in public hands.”
Cubit claimed that the government has no mandate for asset sales.
“When Tasmanian voters went to the polls last year, there was not a whisper around asset sales,” he said.
“This government has deliberately harpooned Metro’s funding for over a decade, which led to the bus driver shortage.
“The government is now looking for a scapegoat for its own budgetary and policy failures,” he says.
Cubit also said that privatising Metro will not work.
“It would lead to service reductions and cost increases for passengers,” he said.
“It would also lead to reductions in pay and conditions for workers during a bus driver shortage, creating a major risk to the overall viability of the public transport system in Tasmania,” Cubit said.
“Keep your hands off our Metro!”
OPPOSITION REACTION
Tasmanian Opposition Leader Dean Winter (Labor) says Rockliff had failed to guarantee that his “fire sale” of state assets for a short-term budget ‘sugar hit’ won’t lead to higher user costs, less services and limit the state’s ability to fund schools and hospitals.
“Tasmania’s finances are in the position they are in for one reason, and for one reason only: Jeremy Rockliff and the Liberals can’t manage money and they have completely wrecked the budget,” he says.
“Privatisation leads to increased user costs and decreased services. The premier couldn’t rule out higher bus fares, higher power prices and more expensive car registration fees which is the last thing Tasmanians can afford right now.”
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