Privatisation back on the agenda for LNP

The Liberal National Party are determined to revive the sale of public assets, including Queensland’s electricity generation, transmission and distribution businesses, with a Turnbull Government Minister linking privatisation with Commonwealth infrastructure funding.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told State Parliament that Turnbull Government Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher had directly linked the availability of Commonwealth infrastructure funds for joint Federal-State projects with the preparedness of State Governments to privatise.

“My Government is keeping our commitment to Queenslanders to not sell income-generating state assets, including our electricity businesses.  Queenslanders can trust me, because I have kept that commitment,” she said.

The Premier said Mr Fletcher had explained, in an unreported speech, the New South Wales Government had received the 80:20 Federal-State spilt for the Pacific Highway upgrade, but the Queensland Government had to fight for a fairer share than then 50:50 originally offered.”

“Mr Fletcher, who not surprisingly is from Sydney’s north shore, says the difference between the two is because of New South Wales is involved in 'withdrawing public capital from state-owned infrastructure'. There’s a simpler way to say that - ‘asset sales’,” she said.

The Member for Clayfield Tim Nicholls and the Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington, who championed asset sales with Campbell Newman, met with Minister Fletcher on 19 June.

“Tim Nicholls needs to come clean. Did they discuss asset sales?”

Under Mr Nicholls, the LNP wanted to Energex, Ergon, Stanwell, CS Energy, Powerlink, Port of Gladstone, Port of Townsville with the rail line to Mount Isa, and industrial water pipelines.

Minister Fletcher’s speech to the Queensland Infrastructure Summit on 29 August included:

“Funding the M1 is a critical issue to Queensland and Minister Fletcher needs to explain why we're getting short-changed. The same road just across the border in New South Wales gets an 80:20 funding split and we're only being offered 50:50. Of course his argument failed to engage with the key difference between the NSW and Queensland Governments. Liberal governments in NSW did the hard work to win public support for a strategy of withdrawing public capital from state-owned infrastructure assets in ports and electricity.”

“By contrast, the Queensland Labor government cancelled well-developed plans, inherited from the previous Liberal National Party government, to similarly withdraw public capital from electricity assets in that state—which unsurprisingly leaves it struggling to fund significant infrastructure projects.”

Link to audio of Mr Fletcher’s speech to the Queensland Infrastructure Summit linking Commonwealth infrastructure funding with privatisations by State Government.