Tasmania needs strong anti-privatisation laws

In March, the Premier launched an extraordinary attack on the public services Tasmanians rely on, and the workers that provide them, in a plan to put publicly owned assets up for sale on the private market - everything from our electricity through Aurora Energy, to our public transport at Metro Tasmania could be sold off to investors looking to make a profit off the Tasmanian community. They have even gone as far as suggesting that the Port Arthur Historic Site and the Land Titles Office could be sold off.

This comes on top of their plan to sack 2,500 Tasmanians in public service jobs. Experience tells us that when public services get privatised and cut, the community pays more, waits longer, and gets poorer outcomes.

We've fought against this plan from the start, and seen thousands of emails from union and community members hit the inboxes of Liberal MPs telling them to Stop the Sell Off, Stop the Cuts.

Privatisation backflips from the Tasmanian Liberals in the lead up to an election don't give Tasmanians any comfort that they won't try again to sell off our public assets to pay down the debt they created, as soon as they get the chance. 

Anti-Privatisation Pledge

I, ……………………………………………………………………  a candidate in the electorate of …………………………. in the 2025 Tasmanian State election make the following pledge:

If elected I will do all in my power to see strong, effective, nation leading legislation implemented that does the following:

1. 1. Requires the approval of at least two-thirds of both Houses of the Tasmanian parliament before the sale or lease of any public asset¹ (while retaining the existing referendum hurdle for electricity privatisation).
   2. Requires Ministers to report to parliament prior to consideration of the outsourcing or privatisation³ of any public service² and present an assessment of the costs and benefits along with the impact on both the community and workers.
   3. Establishes an audit of all outsourced, labour hire, and related work in the Tasmanian State Service to assess the potential and benefits of insourcing them.
   4. Establishes a regulatory framework, to oversee any public assets¹ or services² that are privatised³ to ensure accountability and that commitments made at privatisation are kept.

          ………………………………………………..                                                                                 …………/…………/…………
            Signature of Candidate                                                                                                   Date

Definitions

1. 1. Public asset:

• • Government Business Enterprises, State-Owned Companies, or their assets or subsidiaries as defined in the existing legislation governing them.
  • Statutory Authorities such as TasTAFE or the Tasmanian Fire Service.
  • Other entities run by or on behalf of the Tasmanian Government, for example the Tolosa St Mental Health facility or the Land Titles Office.
  • Significant publicly owned buildings or sites such as the Treasury Building.
  • National Parks and Crown reserves

1. 2. Public service:

• • Any service delivered by or on behalf of the Tasmanian Government.

1. 3. Privatisation:

• • The transfer, in whole or part, of public assets or service provision from the government to an entity outside the government.
  • For clarity, this includes not only sale of public assets but also leasing, outsourcing of service delivery, ‘user choice’, voucher systems, public-private partnerships, use of labour-hire, social impact investment, and mutualisation.