With respect to the incredibly destructive electricity privatisation debate in New South Wales, I remain a fence-sitter, at least to some degree. I was not convinced by the arguments that were put forward by the former Premier and former Treasurer Michael Costa in support of the sell-off, nor the arguments of those opposing it. In an ideological sense I do not believe there to be a simple answer to the questions raised by the associated issues in this case. The old left/right dictums of “state ownership” and “private ownership” can not simply be applied glibly to complex situations such as this one, no matter what the nation’s rigid ideological warriors might continue to believe.
It’s probably worth considering the politics of this for just a moment. The Rees Labor Government is in a spot of bother, given that its former leadership team was determined to push the privatisation through, with or without the support of the NSW Labor Party. With Nathan Rees enjoying only a tenuous command of the party organisation, he lacks the political capital to defy the rump of the party on this issue, as Iemma and Costa bravely (and stupidly) tried to do. This leaves NSW Labor looking like a bit of a shambles, with the whole issue shelved once again for now. Of course, unless the government can turn things around rapidly over the next year or two, the smart money in 2011 will definitely be on the Liberal Party returning to power in New South Wales, as unsavoury as that is for Labor supporters like myself. If and when that happens, it is likely that electricity privatisation will be back on the agenda anyway, and this is something that the Rees Government needs to consider carefully.
On balance, from what I have read, I do believe that a partial sell-off of the state’s electricity assets probably makes sense for the people of New South Wales. On the other hand, I don’t think any person within the Labor Party has yet cogently argued their case to the people of this state or indeed the party’s rank and file. It’s interesting therefore to note this excerpt from the OECD’s policy brief [PDF] associated with its Economic Survey of Australia 2008 report (pp. 8-9):
The implementation of a competitive domestic energy market needs to be accelerated, with companies still under government control privatised and the ceiling on electricity retail prices removed. Public control over electricity companies is neither necessary for securing power supply nor a guarantee of efficiency. Electricity prices have risen faster in New South Wales, where there is still a public monopoly, than in other states in eastern and south-eastern Australia since the creation of the National Electricity Market, whereas productivity gains have been smaller.
So where to now on the electricity industry Premier Rees? If anywhere at all?
