TNCs swoop on South Australian ports

One of the few remaining assets belonging to the people of South 
Australia has been surrendered to big business for $186 million. The 
granting of a 99-year lease on seven SA ports to the "Flinders Ports" 
consortium follows on the privatisation of publicly owned enterprises 
including Bank SA, the electricity utility ETSA, the TAB, the Government 
Car Fleet, Central Linen Service, the Government Clothing Factory, SGIC, 
Forwood Products, State Print, SA Bulk Handling Facilities and the SA Meat 
Corporation.

The consultants' bill for the deal was $4.5 million and the first obvious 
effect will be the loss of fifty jobs that, we are told, will be achieved 
through voluntary separation packages or redeployment within the SA public 
sector.

The SA Government claims that $100 million of the proceeds from the sale 
will go to projects to fight salinity in the Murray River. This comes 
straight from the same bag of political tricks employed by the Federal 
Government when it linked the sale of another chunk of Telstra to the 
creation of an "environment fund". They are trying to create an atmosphere 
in which you need to be pro-privatisation in order to be pro-environment.

"Flinders Ports" is a consortium made up of Adsteam Marine and a French 
partner, Egis. The French company also has interests in Sydney's M2 and M4 
motorways, Brisbane's airtrain and Melbourne's Yarra Trams and City Link. 
Other investors include two Australian superannuation funds and a 
Luxembourg-based investment fund called Galaxy.

SA Government Enterprises Minister Dr Armitage claimed that the price was 
"on the high side of expectations" and says that the ports business is 
likely to be lucrative for the new private owners. The consortium has 
proposed the spending of $52.8 million on the dredging of Outer Harbour 
with a new berth for the Panamax class ships and other upgrades.

The Government has imposed a cap on port charges for three years. At the 
end of this period, the State Independent Industry Regulator will review 
the situation. This arrangement has echoes of undertakings made at the time 
of the privatisation of the water and electricity utilities. Both these 
privatisations have resulted in steep price increases for the people of 
South Australia.