In a global capitalist economy that doesn’t produce enough profits, the wealthy class has spent over 30 years plundering the public sector built up over the last century, only to create more expensive and worse services, and worse jobs in them. The community and public sector workers have to join forces to win a majority in Australian society to turn back the privatisation tide to create the democratic and sustainable economy we desperately need.

The Liberals believe business should run all our services – from electricity to hospitals to transport – and government taxes and spending should be as small as possible.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, privatisation of Australian assets has created unregulated monopolies that hurt productivity and damage the economy. As well, privatisation has been one of many factors driving the growth of part-time, casual and temporary employment, leading to growing job insecurity and widening income inequality in Australia.

The privatisation of Australia’s airports and ports, including Port Botany and Port Kembla in NSW, and the Port of Melbourne, created monopolies without suitable regulation to control how much they could then charge users. The new owners made very large price rises because there's no regulation on how they set the price of a monopoly.

The privatisation and deregulation of the electricity market has led to surging power prices. The head of the ACCC alleged Medibank Private made false, misleading or deceptive representations and engaged in unconscionable conduct in the lead up to the proposed privatisation of Medibank Private. He alleged Medibank Private concealed changes to health insurance policies to boost profits ahead of its privatisation, and said billions of dollars had been wasted in the scandal-plagued vocational education sector since it was opened up to the private sector.

Over the past six years the Coalition Government has systematically attacked our government services and the millions of Australians who rely on them for help and support. Companies taking on outsourced government work are increasing their profit margin by paying the workers less and by classifying the workers at the lowest possible pay rate.

At Royal North Shore Hospital, where the cleaning and portering (moving patients around) was outsourced, it didn’t take long for the profit-motive and quality care to come into conflict. Doctors complained of being unable to control patient care because of resource constraints. There were reports of infectious patients being left for hours in hospital corridors, because no clean rooms were available. Incontinent patients were reportedly left lying in their own waste because there was no one to move them. And the government was stuck in a 28-year contract with a private operator that said it could not afford to meet increased costs. Scandals in NSW such as the infant deaths in Bankstown-Lidcombe and Fairfield Hospitals, chemotherapy under-dosing, and blow-outs in waiting times show how much pressure hospitals are under.

The New South Wales Liberals are privatising Newcastle and Sydney bus services, introducing the private Metro urban rail service to start privatising Sydney Trains, and private light rail as well. These privatisations will reduce jobs and wages in the system, and provide poorer services. This will drive people to use their cars, and will actually worsen the traffic that people are stuck in.

Parts of the M5 East motorway in Sydney will be tolled for the first time ever, slugging south-west Sydney commuters with up to $6.69 for every trip to and from the city. The M5 East from Kingsgrove Rd through to General Holmes Drive has been toll-free since it was completed in 2001 — but that is set to change in 2020 when the new M5 link between Kingsgrove and St Peters opens.

Privatisation leads to an erosion of accountability and a loss of democratic control of services and increases the influence of large corporations over government policy.

Australian Greens

The Greens believe electricity, banking and the internet should be run as essential services, putting public good before corporate profit. They don’t accept corporate donations which could undermine this policy. In detail, the Australian Greens would create a not-for-profit energy retailer, cap power prices, buy back essential electricity infrastructure, create a not-for-profit bank to put customers first, break up the big banks and cap executive pay, and upgrade the NBN technology while opposing any plan to privatise it.

Labor Party

Labor is also saying that privatisation has increased inequality, and electricity prices in particular. A Labor Government would not sign any trade agreement which required privatisation of public services; it would support community and publicly-owned energy systems; restore funding to TAFE / VET; and oppose the privatisation of the ABC and higher education.

Democratic Ecological Socialism

While we must support the Greens and Labor to stop the Coalition’s privatisation madness, we must challenge the deep corporate prejudice against public ownership that will continue to push privatisation on any government.

In a global capitalist economy that doesn’t produce enough profits, the wealthy class has spent over 30 years plundering the public sector built up over the last century, only to create more expensive and worse services, and worse jobs in them.

Employee and consumer control of properly funded public services will overcome the tendency to non-responsive bureaucratic services which did happen in the past. Public services driven by people whose motivation is to serve the people rather than shareholders will enable continuous improvement, universal access and high-standard employment conditions.

To achieve this the community and public sector workers have to join forces to win a majority in Australian society to turn back the privatisation tide to create the democratic and sustainable economy we desperately need.

This statement and the related policy papers are presented as part of the SEARCH Foundation’s work for a democratic, ecological, socialist Australia, based on increased public and social ownership, cooperative mechanisms and workers self-management, that enable people to have an effective voice in all decision-making. Please share them with your networks in the community and at work.

Authorise by L Whitington, SEARCH Foundation, Suite 8, Level 5, 377 Sussex St, Sydney NSW 2000. May 2019.