Karma

[ManlyBacker]

Robertson to turn screws on privatisation
SMH - Alexandra Smith and Andrew Clennell
January 31, 2009

HAVING helped topple the former premier Morris Iemma over the sale of the state's power industry, John Robertson now has the job of privatising prisons after he was handed the corrective services portfolio.

Mr Robertson was sworn in yesterday as Minister for Corrective Services, Public Sector Reform and special Minister of State after a two-month caucus battle to fill two ministerial positions created by the sacking of Matt Brown and Tony Stewart.

But Mr Robertson faces a bitter battle with the Public Service Association, the union representing prison officers, after the Government announced plans to privatise Parklea and Cessnock jails in its mini-budget.

Asked yesterday about his views on privatisation, having led the charge to stop the sale of the electricity industry, Mr Robertson said: "I am going to get a briefing on that and I am going to take that on board and move forward on it but I am not going to comment without a briefing."

Mr Robertson, who replaced Michael Costa in the upper house and was promised a swift promotion to cabinet, said the newly created public sector reform portfolio would give him the opportunity to work on delivering services to taxpayers.

"We need to, as the Premier has said, move on and stop talking about ourselves and get on with the job," Mr Robertson said.

The Premier, Nathan Rees, denied Mr Robertson's main task was to cut public service jobs.

"Given the current economic circumstances, small business and public sector reform will be key to protecting jobs in NSW. John and Steve will be out of the blocks today working with me and the rest of my team," he said.

But the Opposition Leader, Barry O'Farrell, said Mr Robertson and the union movement had created many of the problems in NSW. "Putting Robbo in charge of public sector reform is like putting an arsonist in charge of emergency services," Mr O'Farrell said.


Onya Bazza, finally getting stuck in.

 

[Fro]

Interesting how a bloke who has never been elected to office can be touted as a future premier

 

[ManlyBacker]

Just what we need - another union official running a $ multi-billion organisation (NSW).

I still maintain that the only option for NSW was the privatisation of the power industry. Normally I would be against selling off important public infrastructure but we never had the money to upkeep the aging plants, let alone build anything new. This piece of bastardry by the unions, some Labor pollies and the gutless expedient Barry O'Farrel will see this State suffer for at least 5 years.

 

[The Gronk]

Just what we need - another union official running a $ multi-billion organisation (NSW).

I still maintain that the only option for NSW was the privatisation of the power industry. Normally I would be against selling off important public infrastructure but we never had the money to upkeep the aging plants, let alone build anything new. This piece of bastardry by the unions, some Labor pollies and the gutless expedient Barry O'Farrel will see this State suffer for at least 5 years.

Got to agree with you there MB.

Although, if you look at what has been happening with the power in the heat down here in Mexico, you can see that privatising doesn't necessarily improve the service at all. 

Still, I would have sold it off in NSW, probably ten years ago when it was worth something, so long as the profits were used to invest in worthwhile projects, not a few extra rounds of TV advertising telling us to vote for them again. 

 

[Canteen Worker]

The game has changed for State Governments in NSW and Vic since the introduction of the GST. Basically the big states are subsidising WA and QLD. NSW govt is moribund and totally ordinary but with a massive downturn in state revenue there are massive problems for whoever is in power.

I am yet to be convinced that the short term boost in revenue from privatisation is worth the long term pain. Sydney Airport Corp and the Motorways are raking it in big time with little thought to the consumer and Telstra is hardly a worthwhile example of privatisation.

 

[Matabele]

NSW needs to get over bleating about the GST issue.  It's the same for Victoria and it hasn't held them back.  and the way the distribution is set up makes sense from an economic perspective  where area of the state and revenue generated from industry are taken into account, not just census data.

It's just a sad reality for NSW that the government is over legislating and over taxing small business and therefore there's no entrepreneurial incentive. 

 

[ManlyBacker]

CW, Motorways are not doing well and with their level of debt and falling patronage, not to mention the projects such as the City East and similar that went completely bust, they are in for hard times. Even the Airports will find it hard to have good reporting figures over the next two years as people stop their enthusiasm for holidays away from a local destination. In hindsight I would call the farming out of these projects as almost genius by the governments. Now they can buy them back for a quarter of the cost.

You are giving me a good morning laugh Mata. Your franchise enthusiasm and quest for outback NSW domination through a selection of exotic toppings and the sudden thrust into the pasta market, does not mean that NSW is going down the plughole due to over regulating and over taxing of small business.

The GST distribution will be interesting with WA and Qld both probably providing next to nothing over the next 2 years. However, the NSW government is so interested in individual power plays they have completely forgotten why they were elected - that is to run the State for the people.

In some ways the Howard govt has helped today's situation by withholding so much of our taxes in the surplus and giving Rudd some moving space, but most of the problems we see at a State level were caused by this. Still, the serious problems we have coming up are definitely caused more by overseas influences and we cannot control how they will turn out.

 

[Matabele]

It is a matter of fact MB that NSW is over taxed and over legislated.  As Senior Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce out here I get the regular Media Releases from the NSW Business Chamber saying exactly that. 

 

[ManlyBacker]

And they wouldn't be biased now would they? Next you will be joining the Employers Federation calling for massive wage restraint. I do agree that there is a lack of incentive for small business, it is just your enthusiasm for the cause that is making me chuckle.

 

[Matabele]

And they wouldn't be biased now would they? Next you will be joining the Employers Federation calling for massive wage restraint. I do agree that there is a lack of incentive for small business, it is just your enthusiasm for the cause that is making me chuckle.

 

I've been in small business for 13 years and have an Economics degree champ.  What do you boast of? 

 

[ManlyBacker]

 

[Matabele]

 

[The Gronk]

And they wouldn't be biased now would they? Next you will be joining the Employers Federation calling for massive wage restraint. I do agree that there is a lack of incentive for small business, it is just your enthusiasm for the cause that is making me chuckle.

I remember seeing a figure that if every pay claim employers had put in to the IRC in the last 20 years had been accepted wages would have gone down by around 20%. 

 

[Fro]

so where are Matas and MB going to meet up so they can get them up and have a measure

 

[Canteen Worker]

[quote author=ManlyBacker link=topic=179085.msg206141#msg206141 date=1233613758]
And they wouldn't be biased now would they? Next you will be joining the Employers Federation calling for massive wage restraint. I do agree that there is a lack of incentive for small business, it is just your enthusiasm for the cause that is making me chuckle.

 

I've been in small business for 13 years and have an Economics degree champ.  What do you boast of? 


[/quote]Balance!!! (with no anger!)

 

[Matabele]

so where are Matas and MB going to meet up so they can get them up and have a measure

  We met in Personal messages sweety.