Government responsibilities ?

Two statements this week illustrate the withdrawal of two levels of government from essential services that used to be in government hands. Industry Minister Ian MacFarlane ruled out nuclear power generation in Australia, despite the nuclear option being favoured by fifty percent of the public in opinion polls.

The generation of electrical power, it's distribution to the public - and the price charged used to be a responsibility of each state government.  The bigger states have seen fit to "privatise "electricity and now it is in the hands of companies who have a responsibility to deliver dividends to their shareholders - because their money was exchanged to fill government coffers and make electricity a mere commodity for profitable trade.

The other statement came from James Baulderstone, the head of Santos and he warned that the people of New South Wales can look forward to cold showers and gas shortages if the state government does not get cracking and approve fast tracking the Narrabri coal seam gas operation.  This has the potential to provide fifty percent of this states gas needs.

Australia is not short of natural gas.   In fact, we are one of the world's biggest exporters of gas - and there are indications that world demand will continue to increase exponentially - dragging the price ever higher.   Domestic gas prices have hiked in recent time because the gas we use in this state has to compete with overseas demand.

It would be naive to expect that if this Narrabri gas field was successfully tapped the gas would be delivered to this state's homes below the price that can be obtained on the world market.   It will cost Santos big money to bring in a new gas field and Santos is a commercial company with dividend hungry shareholders.   We seem destined to pay commercial rates for both electricity and gas - because both industries are no longer government entities.

In the distant past, household gas was only available in cities and usually a joint operation between local councils and private enterprise.   It was generated by burning coal to fill huge "gasometers "and the piping network was limited.  The discovery of oil in Australia and natural gas runoff brought cheap gas to the Australian public long before the present overseas demand kicked in inflate the price structure.

It's too late to lock the stable door - because the horse has bolted !  Gas and electricity are now subject to the pressures of the marketplace and despite assurances that governments at both levels are doing all they can to keep price hikes in check, we are faced with a very unpleasant reality.  We no longer own and control these essentials to modern living.

It would take an immense policy change to roll back control of power and gas.   Probably the only option would be for a joint state and Commonwealth corporation to create a network of nuclear power stations and tap this country's gas fields. We would gain the benefit of reduced pollution and a drop in C02 emissions, but such a plan would also fly in the face of the notion that private enterprise does things cheaper than government instrumentality's.   It would probably end up with these two vital commodities being supplied below cost - and become a burden on the Treasury.

It seems that we are stuck with electricity and gas prices being governed by the need for their new owners to produce dividends !