ETU: Stop The Selloff

Electrical Trades Union members visited the railway station last Friday to hand out leaflets opposing the proposed "sell-off" of the electricity "poles and wires" network.

Union members took their protest to the nearby office of Heathcote MP Lee Evans.

Mark Buttigieg and other members of the Electrical Trades Union protest against the proposed
electricity "poles and wires" sell-off outside the Engadine office of Heathcote MP Lee Evans

Premier Mike Baird announced in June the Coalition would ask for a mandate at the election next March to lease 49 per cent of the network and plough $20 billion from proceeds into an infrastructure package.

Proposed projects, which are due to be finalised in November, include a southern extension to the WestConnex motorway, which would run from Tempe to President Avenue, Kogarah.

Stop the Sell Off campaign spokesman Mark Buttigieg, a union organiser and former Sutherland Shire councillor, said the privatisation plan would "inevitably result in higher power prices".

"Our electricity network, made up of Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy and TransGrid, is the state's most valuable income-generating asset," he said.

"Its profits currently provide billions of dollars every year to help pay for schools, hospitals and transport."

Mr Buttigieg said private owners of the network would cut back on spending and increase prices to maximise returns for shareholders.

"Mr Evans will likely say that price regulations and job protection will be put in place, but these are just temporary measures designed to get him past the next election," he said.