Ms BURNET (Clark) – Honourable Speaker, I hope I can lift the quality of the debate because, from what we have just heard, it is pretty disappointing. I thank the opposition for bringing this motion for discussion and I appreciate the House accepting the Greens amendment to consider people. It may have been covered by the motion, but I think we needed to make it quite clear that we are not just looking at our public services. It is also the people who power those public services. It is important that the institutions and the people be looked at.
I will concentrate on one particular area of service, transport, in particular public transport. It is an essential service for powering any society. We can have a discussion about the governance structure of the various GBEs but, fundamentally, we rely on a functional public transport system for a society to flourish. Fundamentally, it should be run by government.
Tasmanians are telling me that they are furious at the idea that these state assets will be sold from under them, particularly public transport. This is an issue that energises people. We only need to look at the traffic chaos this morning, and twice more in recent weeks, to see that a reliable, affordable and well-funded public transport system is more essential than ever. A well-functioning public transport system is the sign of an advanced society. It says we care about our communities and how they travel to and from the places they need to get to, and that they can travel inexpensively. When you go overseas or interstate, you quite often see public transport systems that are working very well, that are well-functioning, and cared for by their government.
What we have now is, unfortunately, a very run-down Metro where it is dysfunctional, unloved and underinvested in, it speaks volumes about the government and reflects poorly on our society overall. This is what we need now. This is the state of public transport in Tasmania and what it does not need is privatisation.
Transport requires a strategic approach in concert with government agencies. If that is taken out of public hands and run for profit – and we know that there is a review of the network which is imminent and it needs to be considered as part of the public asset – we can be certain of further service reductions otherwise, higher prices, poorer working conditions for staff including bus drivers, and lack of investment in emissions reduction. Once it has been run into the ground, we will end up buying it back.
I will talk about a couple of examples, in particular about privatisation. In South Australia there was privatisation. There was a 12‑year performance‑based contract between Keolis Downer and the South Australian government. It cost $2.1 billion and was supposed to save taxpayers $118 million. Figures were all done and it sounded great. Unfortunately, they could not recruit to that organisation, and ended up on the hook for almost the same amount. Taxpayers faced a $120 million bill in this situation. I might add, just to make sure the government is aware not only of this situation in South Australia, but the same company, Keolis, has [inaudible 3.52.41 pm], and they copped a big fine from the Welsh Government for failing to meet contract expectations in 2020. There are problems. We have problems all through the UK government, with Carillion, with Serco. Those privatisations have had major political consequences for UK governments.
We have situations close by. I will finish in a moment, but the situation is of great concern. We saw what Jeff Kennett, as Premier, did with the privatisation of the Melbourne networks. This started with Jeff Kennett and has cost Victorians, and Melbournians in particular, a huge amount per commuter for using public transport services because of privatisation. It is not all good. It can cost quite a lot. You see reductions in staff morale.
The Tasmanian public and generations to come should not be made to pay for this government’s mistakes through reduced services and higher prices. This is possibly what we might get. I know the review will look at this, should it be passed today. That review may help us.
We also should not continue pouring money into unsustainable GBEs and state owned companies such as Forestry Tasmania. We are overdue for a conversation around whether all of these services and companies are working as they should. There would be no point in pretending that every GBE and SOC is delivering to the max. However, we should know that selling off prized and beloved assets which deliver essential services will be short‑term gain and long‑term pain for all Tasmanians. We stand with workers across the state in opposition of any fire sale.
