The smell of a rodent !

The government of New South Wales is desperate to rid itself of the power generating industry. It is so desperate that a failed plan saw the demise of former premier Morris Iemma at the hands of the unions.

Now there is a new attempt under Nathan Rees, this time directed at the distribution arms of the power industry and retaining in government hands the actual generating plants - for now !

Citizens of this state have a right to ask themselves several rather important questions.

Finance Minister Joe Tripodi has suggested that the trading rights of Energy Australia, Integral and Country Energy would be worth $ 10 billion in the present economic circumstances. Merrill Lynch considers that their sale could bring in $ 13 billion.

Why would buyers part with that sort of money for something the government presently owns if it were not going to earn them fantastic profits ? And if it is so profitable, why is the government selling it ?

What does the government know that it is not sharing with the citizens of this state ?

It is interesting that the sale is open to offers from countries such as China, but there has been no suggestion of floating on the stock exchange and allowing Australian citizens to invest in power distribution.

Somewhere in the murky recesses of what passes for government in this state the movers and shakers know that electric power is a poisoned chalice for governments that rely on the public to vote and keep them in office.

They may be frightened of the coming carbon trading regime and the surge in costs to households or they may be frightened of the huge outlay that someone has to spend to create new power generators.

Then there is the hysterical debate on what sort of power generation decisions the public will accept. The cheapest option would be a few more coal burning stations, but the option of wind,wave or solar will stir powerful emotions - and have an impact on voting intentions - and then there is the elephant in the corner - the option of going nuclear !

The one thing that anyone with the most modest grasp of economics will understand is that if bidders are prepared to pay billions for an industry the government is desperate to quit they will only do that if they foresee huge rewards by way of profit from that purchase.

If energy is in private hands it is a sure bet that prices will rise to deliver that profit.

The people who presently own that asset have every right to demand that the state government come clean and put all the economics on the table before this sell off goes any further.

The chances of that happening are about the same as the Tooth Fairy leaving the winning numbers of Lotto under your pillow before the next draw !