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May 30th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda AAP
A bill to privatise NSW power generators has passed the Legislative Council after the government brokered a deal with Shooters Party MPs.
Unions, the state opposition and Greens say the sale of the state’s generators – the poles and wires are to remain in public hands – will lead to a hike in power bills.
Premier Barry O’Farrell says the power sell-off will generate $3 billion for crucial state infrastructure.
The bill to enable the sale of the power stations at Lithgow, the Hunter Valley and Central Coast had languished in the upper house since March, with the Shooters Party refusing to back the sell-off.
The premier acknowledged the government wouldn’t have backed that party’s push to allow shooting of feral animals in national parks if it weren’t for the need to get the power privatisation through the upper house.
“Our bigger public interest test here is to unlock the asset value of the generators to assist us in rebuilding the economy by delivering the infrastructure needed to get this state going,” Mr O’Farrell said.
Labor spokesman for energy Luke Foley told ALP the bill’s passage through the upper house represented “broken promises” from the government. He said he feared the government would seek to sell off more infrastructure in future.
“I fear a fire-sale,” he said on Wednesday night.
“We fear the pole and wires will be next and we will campaign long and hard against that.”
The government already plans to sell off electricity development sites and lease out or privatise the Cobbora coal mine in western NSW.
Greens energy spokesman John Kaye said the government should have borrowed money it needed for infrastructure rather than move to sell an income-bearing asset.
“You can only pull this trick once,” he told AAP.
“This is a bandaid solution to the infrastructure needs of NSW.”
He said voters would pay for the legislation for many years to come.
“Every opinion poll shows electricity privatisation is deeply unpopular, and it will be even more so once they start paying for it,” he said.
The legislation passed with amendments which add worker protections such as guaranteed employment for two years and maintenance of apprenticeships.
Shooters MP Robert Brown told MPs his party’s major concern was getting the best deal for workers, not the amendments to the Game and Feral Animal Control Act which will allow licensed shooters into 79 of the state’s 799 national parks, nature reserves and state conservation areas.
“We are satisfied … that we have negotiated the best deal possible for workers in the power industry in a window that allowed us to do that,” Mr Brown said.
The Electrical Trades Union said higher prices were the experience in other states where power generators have been sold but business groups have backed the power sell-off, saying it would free up billions for much needed infrastructure.
“This is a win for NSW’s infrastructure backlog,” NSW Business Chamber chief Stephen Cartwright said.
“All the transport projects that we want to see built from the North West Rail Link to the M5 duplication and the M4 East extension are a step closer to reality with the sale of the state’s electricity generators.”
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