CPA - The Guardian

A public rally and march was held in Brisbane last week against the government’s plans to privatise public assets. The rally is part of the ongoing “Queensland Not For Sale” campaign and is the culmination of a week of regional rallies held in Innisfail, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and Gladstone.

Queensland Council of Unions general secretary Ron Monaghan said the rallies were held following continued community anger about the asset sales.

“Our recent polling revealed that 9 out of 10 Queenslanders don’t support privatisation and that 84 percent think the government does not need to proceed with its plan.

“The Premier and Treasurer keep saying there’s no alternative to privatisation being put forward but we have said all along that the government does not need to sell-off these profit-making assets – that’s the alternative.”

He said there is more evidence appearing every day to suggest that the economic recovery is well on the rise and that Queensland continues to exceed expectations in this regard.

“In its recently-released report, the Commonwealth Grants Commission has advised the federal government that Queensland should receive an increase in its GST distribution of $545 million extra in just one year (from 2009-10 to 2010-11). And taking into consideration the economic recovery, this could mean GST revenues in subsequent years could be even higher.”

This contrasts with Treasurer Fraser’s 2009-10 budget papers report which assumes a decrease in GST revenue of a further $3.6 billion over the period 2010-11 to 2012-13.

“Why does Treasurer Fraser continue to under-estimate income such as the GST receipts? The Commonwealth Grants Commission report really brings into question the government’s reasoning all along for the sell-off.”

Next article – Privatisation of nature

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