I’ve got to say, I’m all powered out.
It’s been a long week, in the political world of power privatisation.
Without going over the pros and cons of the NSW Premier’s original plan, for partial privatisation, he should be condemned for not being able to rally his troops, and get it through.
That applies to Bob Carr as well. Both of whom, copped a good whack by former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett.
The reality is, we’ve now got to look at finding $20 billion to upgrade the grid - retro-fit if you like - or we’ll all be in the dark by about 2015.
And that conclusion has now forced the credit agencies to place NSW on credit watch - that’s for the first time in 20 years.
So to compound our problems any monies we borrow will cost more. The rates will be stiffer, just in case the whole pack of cards come falling down.
I hope the Opposition has a plan to avoid all this?
It will be to privatise power - have no doubt.
It is the parties’ ethos.
Yesterday, simply delayed the inevitable.
Without privatising power, the Liberal Party, will not be able to afford to run any kind competitive campaign, at the next NSW election.
Business will abandon the Liberal Party, even more than they are already. That’s a fact of life.
So forget about Barry saving the world yesterday, as I’m hearing all over the joint.
He will do what Morris Iemma tried to do, in almost the same form.
But where else are we up to?
If Morris’s plan was called a partial privatisation, his new plan, plan B, which he said he didn’t have, must be referred to as, ‘a mini-privatisation’. A kind of unplugged version.
It’s where they only flog the retail arm and pull out of leasing the generators.
But not only, will we have a hole in the power sector, that is, no money to bring it up to speed, stand-by for a new State Budget without hospital upgrades, no M4 East extension… that’s a cert.
And all this hopeful talk about metro rail systems, to and from the western suburbs, will be redundant once again. Gone.
Yesterday, August 28, may go down in history, as a most pivotal point for this State, more pivotal maybe than at anytime in the past dozen or so years.
And can I just make one last suggestion: Given the fact, that the Labor Government, dragged Parliament back early from the winter recess, given the fact that it cost you and me half a million dollars, we should refuse to pay.
In fact, because the manoeuvre backfire, because it was a complete waste of time, we shouldn’t have to pay.
The bill should be sent to ALP headquarters! How dare they toy with Parliament in this way? And our money.
Especially, given the fact that they still intend to go ahead with a mini-privatisation anyway.
Damn them!
If the Parliament wants to make the most of this recall, caste a vote right now in both chambers, to push through a demand for the ALP to fund their failed rouse.
The bill should go to the ALP this afternoon, with a demand to pay up, within 14 days.
How dare they.
