Electricity privatisation is bad news for communities and the environment

Dr Kaye said: “The privatisation of Telstra has left rural and regional communities with little hope of ever achieving decent communications infrastructure.

“Now the Iemma government wants to do the same to electricity.

“Handing over decisions about the future of electricity supply to the corporate boardrooms in the high rise buildings in Sydney will deliver job losses, higher prices and ballooning greenhouse gas emissions.

“Rural and regional consumers can expect the worst from an industry that will be focused exclusively on maximising profit.

“The government’s case for privatisation started with the entirely false idea that this state needs new baseload power capacity.

“Premier Iemma has discarded the possibilities of reducing over-night demand by replacing electric off-peak water heaters with high efficiency and solar units.

“By failing to adequately test the need for new baseload capacity, the government is panicking itself into selling off the industry to attract private capital to pay for a coal fired power station.

“The Premier is sacrificing the benefits of public ownership for a baseload power station that is not needed, using logic that is at best questionable.

“Instead of working with households to bring down total consumption and hence greenhouse gas emissions, the new private owners will be driven by the need to earn a return on their investment.

“A new base load power station would take away jobs in rural and regional centres where renewable energy options can be manufactured and installed.

“The Iemma government has abandoned ship on trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Privatisation and a new coal fired power station would be bad news not only for jobs but also for the environment,” Dr Kaye said.