Anger at Premier Anna Bligh's planned privatisation of $15 billion of public assets is growing, after the July 22 appointment of Rothschild, Merrill Lynch and the Royal Bank of Scotland to advise on the asset sale.
The consortium — which involves companies recently bailed out by their respective governments — could collect "more than $200 million in fees", said the July 23 Courier Mail.
Electrical Trades Union state secretary Peter Simpson said the announcement of the advisers on the sale of Queensland ports, non-passenger rail, forests and motorways, was a further blow to the credibility of the plan.
"What a team!", Simpson said. "A couple of companies that had to be bailed out recently by governments are now back advising Queensland on privatisation. The Royal Bank of Scotland has effectively been nationalised in recent times with the United Kingdom government announcing it would move towards a 70% ownership stake. In January this year the RBS announced the biggest corporate losses in British history."
"Merrill Lynch … basically went broke in 2008, due to debt risk from the US sub-prime collapse, and was bailed out by a merger with Bank of America.
"The appointment of these companies to advise on the privatisation raises even more questions about this unpopular and unnecessary plan."
Marg Gleeson from Save Our Public Assets (SOPA) told Green Left Weekly: "While Bligh claims to be acting in response to the economic crisis, she is actually feeding some of the corporations most implicated — with Queensland taxpayers' money!"
The speculated $200 million of public money to be paid to the consortium "is good money that could be used on stimulating the Queensland economy and funding Queensland services", said Simpson.
The ETU "will be campaigning against these asset sales right up to the next State election", he vowed. "The laws have been passed [but] they haven't been enacted and our goal … is to make sure they're not enacted."
Recent polling in five electorates, commissioned by the ETU, showed a huge 9% swing against the Bligh ALP government, mostly in response to the sell-off plans.
As part of the campaign, the ETU has organised billboards attacking the plan for Highgate Hill, Bligh's electorate, and Ipswich, transport minister Rachel Nolan's electorate. A billboard will also go up in Rockhampton soon. Bumper stickers reading "See Queensland first before Bligh sells it" will also be distributed.
[For upcoming events against the planned sell-off, see calendar on page 23. To contact SOPA, phone Marg 0439 411 330 or subscribe to the egroup: