Newman’s power play is admirable

by David Richardson in The Courier-Mail

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Originally published in The Courier-Mail on May 1, 2013

QUEENSLAND Premier Campbell Newman has stared down former federal treasurer Peter Costello and he deserves some credit for that. A stocktake of Australia’s electricity now, compared with two decades ago, confirms that the privatisation and corporatisation of the sector has been a massive failure. An analysis of the sector since Victoria privatised power in the 1980s shows productivity has fallen and prices have gone through the roof.

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