NSW:NSW treasurer defends electricity sell-off

AAP General News (Australia)
12-15-2010
NSW:NSW treasurer defends electricity sell-off

SYDNEY, Dec 15 AAP - The resignation of board members in the wake of NSW's electricity
privatisation is a "minor hitch" in a major process, says Treasurer Eric Roozendaal.

The NSW Government announced on Tuesday night the $5.3 billion sale of electricity
assets and is expected to spend Wednesday spruiking the deals.

The announcement sparked the resignation of eight of the 11 board members of state-owned
companies Eraring and Delta Electricity.

When questioned about the resignations the treasurer said that out of the directors
of the six companies involved "most of those directors co-operated with the process, the
others we resolved the issues with".

"We're talking about a major two-year transaction, they (company directors) were simply
asked whether they believed these deals were commercially appropriate for their individual
companies," Mr Roozendaal told ABC Radio on Wednesday morning.

"They were not looking at the public policy objectives of the government. They were
not looking at the benefits to the tax payers, they were looking narrowly at what they
believed was interpreting the responsibilities for their organisations."

Mr Roozendaal moved to defend the transactions, which were signed-off at about midnight
(AEDT) Tuesday, labelling them a "$5.3 billion win for the people of NSW".

"The state's financial position is now stronger and it's a great result that secures
the state's triple-A energy rating - and it means we'll have a stronger and more competitive
electricity market," he said.

"We had some issues last night. Those issues have been resolved and the transaction
was completed late last night."

"The important issues here is that we've now completed the first part of our energy
reform strategy.

"This is a process that's been ongoing for well over two years and the the individual
organisations were well aware of the process.

"What's important here is the outcome for the people of NSW and the government has
met its objectives of getting out of the very volatile retail business and for the first
time getting private sector investment into generation.

"All due process has been followed, there was an army of lawyers and advisers working
on this transaction for well over two years and right up until the late hours of last
night to make sure that everything was done appropriately," he said.

Replacement directors have already been appointed to fill positions created by the
resignations overnight Tuesday.

Mr Roozendaal said the new directors had been prepared to step in at the last minute.

"We were prepared for all eventualities as you are whenever you're doing a major transaction,
but this is a big win for the taxpayers of NSW," he said.

The treasurer said that the deal was finally signed at around midnight (AEDT) on Tuesday.

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KEYWORD: ELECTRICITY

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