Privatisation

The message from the community has been loud and clear during the deliberations of the People’s Inquiry into Privatisation: take back control of public services! After public hearings all over Australia last year, taking written submissions from individuals as well as affected organisations, and commissioning research, the People’s Inquiry is…

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), with the support of the ASU, has called for the Turnbull Government to combat the rising cost of power by standing up to the excessive corporate power in the privatised energy market. A new report today reveals private energy companies are playing the…

Remunicipalisation. It’s a big word for a big job, picking-up the pieces from numerous failed attempts to privatise public services originally supplied by local governments. It is the name of the process the City of Paris went through in bringing their water service back in house seven years ago. Long…

The recent report of the Productivity Commission Inquiry that identified community services (including to the most vulnerable Australians and Indigenous people in remote areas) along with public hospitals, dental services, grants for family services, social housing and palliative care, as areas to introduce competition through privatisation, has reignited the debate…

The impact on ordinary Australians of privatising essential public assets and services will be examined in a People’s Inquiry launched today by the global union Public Services International (PSI), of which the ASU is an affiliate. The People’s Inquiry into Privatisation will examine in detail community concerns, including those recently…

As nations negotiate an international accord at the Paris UN Climate Summit (aka COP21) against global warming, their trade negotiators were simultaneously meeting in Geneva to secretly forge a new free trade agreement that could expand the use of fossil fuels and cause further climate change. Click here to read…

Yet another series of leaks confirm PSI's repeated concerns on the restriction of governments' right to regulate in the public interest as well as underlining the lack of transparency surrounding the Trade In Service Agreement (TISA) negotiations. Click here to read this item on the PSI website The documents –…

The Central Jakarta District Court on 24 March annulled the water privatisation contracts of Suez (PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya – Palyja) and Aetra, finding that the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) were negligent in fulfilling the human right to water for Jakarta's residents. Click here to read this on the PSI website…

Today the ASU has released a new report bringing together Australian and international research on privatisation to illustrate the detrimental impact it can have. Public opposition to privatisation is at a high pitch as more people become informed, yet some politicians remain intent on selling our public assets and in…

Shared services between the public and private sector, "Public Private Partnerships" (PPPs), or leasing or selling public services or assets to the private sector – these are all different names for privatisation in Australia. Under the title of PPPs, a new international report released today adds to the steadily growing…