Auditor Blows Hole in Iemma Arguments

Below is a report from the ABC about the Auditor Generals report into power privatisation.

Far from being a ringing endorsement of the Costa/Iemma move, it has instead exposed two fatal flaws - italicised in the ABC report below.

The AG is calling for a reserve price to be set, which will make a mockery of the wildly optimistic $15Billion figure that Costa and Iemma have been bandying around like a pair of Parramatta Road used car salesmen. The second flaw is that the AG totally rejects the Costa/Iemma timetable, calling on the essential services to be sold off simultaneously. This is going to lead to what will effectively be a fire sale of an asset owned by the people of NSW that Iemma has no mandate to toy with.

New South Wales Parliament is being recalled early from its winter break to debate the Government's electricity privatisation legislation.

The Premier, Morris Iemma, has been emboldened by the Auditor-General's positive review of the sale strategy and by his statement that it should happen sooner, rather than later.

In his report, handed down yesterday, Peter Achterstraat said he found nothing to suggest the strategy is not appropriate for maximising financial value for taxpayers.

He has suggested the Government should set a reserve price for each transaction and not proceed unless that is met.

He also said the Government should consider off-loading the generators and retailers simultaneously, rather than sequentially as is proposed.

The ABC understands MPs could now be called back to Macquarie Street as early as the end of next week to debate the legislation.

The Speaker, Richard Torbay, says it would not be difficult to organise.

"The Parliament is obviously there, established and ready to go," he said.

Mr Torbay was still waiting for official notification yesterday afternoon, but said the early recall is achievable.

"We would need to obviously notify all the MPs," he said.

"That can be done at very short notice, even a day or two, allowing members to travel to get to Parliament House and obviously undertake a sitting of Parliament on a special basis."

The recall puts extra pressure on the Opposition to state its position.

Business groups say there is no call for further delays, but Greens MP John Kaye believes the Opposition still has room to move.

"The report was so narrow it failed to look at retention," he said.

He says at the very least the legislation should be delayed until the shape of the emissions trading scheme is known.

The swift action is being backed by an alliance of business groups, who say the Auditor-General's review of the sale strategy leaves no room for doubters.