Unions Tasmania has described the state government's plan to reform government business enterprises as a blueprint for privatisation. Yesterday's announcement of a review was headlined by a proposal to merge t-t line, Tas-ports and Tas-rail. But it's the government's plan to assess whether other government businesses should remain publicly owned that's ringing alarm bells.
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00:00Jeremy Rockcliffe's previously been a sceptic of selling state-owned companies.
00:07If we let Tote go at a bargain basement price, Tasmanian taxpayers will be ripped off.
00:14Now it seems the sale of some of the state's GBEs, with a few exceptions, is on the table.
00:20We will have a look at what opportunities there may be,
00:25but again, let's not give any credibility to a scare campaign.
00:30While Mr Abetz has dismissed concerns about privatisation as a hypothetical,
00:35the government's GBE review and reform agenda includes an assessment of whether public ownership of each business remains appropriate.
00:44I think the government has an idea of which businesses it is considering privatising
00:49and I think it is disingenuous to open up a process like this and release a paper like this without naming them up.
00:55We're not going to allow ourselves to be diverted with a side issue in relation to privatisation.
01:02There is some consensus that the broader review is desperately needed in the wake of the Spirit of Tasmania fiasco and other issues.
01:11We've experienced increased time and costs associated with development here in Tasmania
01:17and part of that relates to some of the services that are provided through GBEs.
01:23It is not an acceptable solution to say, well we've stuffed it up so we're going to flog it off
01:30to the highest bidder, presumably, and therefore have no accountability.
01:34The privatisation conversation has quickly gathered pace in recent months.
01:39Former Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson was asked at a budget breakfast in September
01:44if he'd consider selling state assets given Tasmania's ballooning debt.
01:48We'll take advice on any opportunities where an asset might be better not in state hands.
01:55Before revealing plans to sell part of the public trustee.
01:59Privatising something is a quick sugar hit, it helps your budget bottom line and maybe your political circumstances
02:06in the near term and in the long term the rest of us pay.
02:10A sugar hit that might be too appetising to resist.