Blue Mountains: No power privatisation!

A leading anti-electricity privatisation group has written to Member for Bathurst Gerard Martin calling on him to oppose the latest push by the Rees Government to sell off the State’s power system.

The call comes after power workers at Delta facilities on the Central Coast walked off the job last Friday in a protest against power privatisation plans.

The letter from PeoplePower Blue Mountains highlights statements made under oath late last year by the head of NSW Treasury John Pierce that many of the day-to-day decisions on the running of plants at Mt Piper and Wallerawang would be taken from Delta Electricity and given to the successful bidder for the generator trading rights.

Many industry commentators have already said that the successful bidder for the trading rights at Delta would likely be an overseas-based company.

"Whoever wins the bid for the generator trading rights will be driven by profit,” PeoplePower Blue Mountains convenor Liam Mitchell said.

“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see what is going to happen to job security, pay and conditions if an overseas multinational is calling the shots at Delta."

PeoplePower Blue Mountains say press reports indicate that NSW Infrastructure Minister Joe Tripodi is behind the revived plan.

"The people behind this, Joe Tripodi and the NSW Treasury, must be very slow," Mitchell said.

"The people of NSW, especially workers in the industry, have spelled it out for them time and time again — privatisation in any form of public utilities is simply not an option.

"We are calling on Gerard Martin to publicly come out and back the many families in his electorate that rely on the electricity generation industry for decent jobs.

"If Mr Martin prefers to choose Joe Tripodi over his electorate we will be encouraging him to come out publicly and explain why.

"This is not an issue that anyone can sit on the fence on.

"The events at Vales Point last Friday show that anger among power workers is very real and it is a matter if when, not if, this issue will emerge locally.

"When that happens workers in the power industry, and the broader community, want Mr Martin to stand by his community and publicly state that he is opposed to privatisation of the power industry and especially the Tripodi plan."