2020-12-01
The Australian Greens have slammed Labor and Liberal for doing a deal to block the Greens’ inquiry into privatisation.
After Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, announced at the National Press Club the party’s plan for a wide-ranging inquiry into the failures of three decades of privatisation and corporatisation, Labor and Liberal did a deal to block the Greens and instead pass their own weaker inquiry that will shield their governments from scrutiny.
“Labor and Liberal are running a protection racket for privatisation,” Bandt said.
“For over three decades, Labor and Liberal have peddled the trickle-down ideology of privatisation, corporatisation and contracting out. The Greens wanted an inquiry into how this has hurt public services and driven up costs for the public, but Labor and Liberal voted against it.”
“The Greens believe essential services should be run for the public good, not private profit, but Liberal and Labor clearly disagree.
“Today it became clear that the Labor and Liberal parties share the shame of the history of failed privatisation and corporatisation, and they don’t want a serious inquiry into it.”
“Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it, and sadly, privatisation and corporatisation in Australia is a history too hard for either Liberals or the Labor party to face.
“In an act of parliamentary cowardice, Labor joined the Liberals to create a weaker inquiry that they would control from go to whoa.
“The terms of reference in this political stitch-up fail to investigate the corporatisation of the public service, the sale of government assets, or the results of the sale of Qantas, Commonwealth Bank, and the corporatisation of Australia Post.”