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Privatisations are not simply fire sales of National Assets, they are theft of Public Assets, occurring in the following partial list….

John Brumby summed it up well when he wrote the following in 1995…

“The SEC is a valuable and profitable asset paid for and owned by Victorians. It is held in trust by the Government for present and future Australians. Each year, after servicing it’s debts, it pays a dividend of over $250 million [actually $314 million for 1993/94 ]to the people of Victoria.

These dividends are used to build our schools and hospitals, run our trams and buses, and train and equip our police and emergency services.

Without the profits of the SEC, and other publicly owned companies such as the Gas & Fuel and Melbourne Water, the only way Victorians would be able to afford these essential services would be through higher taxes”.

These public utilities have been built up through public investment, risk, and lost lives in industrial accidents.

The transfer to private ownership means that profits now are prioritised over service and employment, and in all instances there has been no public gain, in actual fact the taxpayer now must supplement the running expenses with millions of dollars annually.