The ABC in a recent Background Briefing showed that the conventional electricity power generating and distribution industry has the Australian Government in its pocket to the extent that prices in this country are among the highest in resource rich countries. Quentin here presents his own two part ‘Background Briefing’ shedding light on the privatisation of Power Generation in Victoria’s LaTrobe Valley. Read on in “The Road to Serfdom”.
By Quentin Cockburn
I have a most harrowing first hand account of the cost benefits of privatised electricity and I would love to share it with you.
You see, I was there at the coalface, literally, working in the Latrobe Valley, (variously described as “Latrine”, and “Le nose”) in the early nineties when the supremo for the State Electricity Commission (SEC), George Bates, came along and had a meeting with me. He was one of a few in a direct line of succession from Sir John Monash, who as custodian of our electricity company, (owned and operated by us, the general public), was entrusted with the grand post WW1 vision for Victoria. Cheap and reliable energy self-sufficiency!
George wanted to do something to ensure that the people of the Latrobe Valley, were looked after post privatisation. He wanted to ensure that all of us – the commonwealth – were beneficiaries in the muted sale of the SEC. The SEC was set up to provide power to Melbourne after the miasma of World War One. The families who put it together were offered a lifetime of work, good pay and the bounty of subsidised housing with hot water, (Briquette or electrical) a bath, free health care, education and training. The rub being untiring life-long service to the SEC.
This all worked very well for a long time, whole generations became SEC-ised and the subsidized housing kept those in the ‘Valley safe, sinecured and comfortable. But, you see, the garden city theme adopted at the workers town, Yallourn, was irksome. In the 70’s they demolished the town, (which boasted picture theatre, library and Performance theatre), and moved the residue into the new town, (a much more suburban and grimmer reality) Churchill. Named in honour of our famous leader, and (sans theatre or library,) to celebrate his presence eternal with a large steel, (25 metres) cigar which glowed fittingly at night. These new folks were there to look after Hazelwood, the big new power plant, bought over from Britain. It possessed eight stacks, which is blue riband speak for very impressive indeed!
Things all went swimmingly until the nineties when it was decided, by then Premier Jeff Kennett, that the place and all the equipment would be best sold off, “as private enterprise is much more efficient”, and would provide greater ‘Value’ to the public. Which he did. In no time flat all the generators were sold off, and the vast majority of the employees welded to it, were given substantial and generous packages. Which I’m happy to say they all spent.
Now, without the memory of George Bates and his good natured paternalism, there’s no one left to look after those who stayed behind, there were no jobs in the big city either, and after closing down the local TAFE it became surprisingly clear that training and re-training was unnecessary as you could just as easily employ 457 visa holders. So the sump was left behind, human detritus,and recently, (last summer) it blew up with fire in the pit. No one really cared, they were untermensch anyway, and certainly not shareholders. They, being residue were virtually ignored, and like all those who live on the margins, their impotence will keep them angry for generations to come. Part of the beauty of the privatisation meant that the very powerful Engine Drivers Union, as a local power and political voice could be sidelined and replaced by a very non local provider Suez Energy. Suez has bought a bit of the Egyptian government with it, to treat its constituents with contempt, (death penalties pending).
And that’s what the post privatisation public have come to expect. Serfdom of sorts.