Privatisation in SA continues, despite change in government leadership

Vanguard July 2012 p. 2
Ned K.

When Jay Weatherill became Premier of SA with the departure of Mike Rann, there was an expectation from many workers that there would be a change in direction regarding economic management of the state.

However, the signs are not good so far. In the recent state budget there was the announced loss of an extra 1,000 public sector jobs on top of the 3,000 announced the previous year. Just prior to the budget, the government SA Health department announced it was paying two multinational consultants (Deloitte and Ernst and Young) to “review” all operations of the public hospitals sector to find ways of reducing costs.

Putting aside the issue of whether costs should be reduced or not, why could not such a review be conducted internally, using the expertise of public servants who actually work in SA Health?  Paying thousands of dollars to external profit-making consultants is a continuation of the privatisation mentality.

A couple of weeks after the state budget, an article appeared in the Adelaide Advertiser on 9 June, headed “State car fleet to be privatised”. State Fleet provides vehicles for a range of public services including transportation of blood samples between clinics and hospital laboratories. The article revealed that the SA Government is selling the State Fleet valued at $100 million a year, with 40 jobs at stake. The alleged “savings” by privatisation are unknown but one thing is for sure, pursuit of private profit by the yet to be announced provider will take preference over service to the public.

The SA Government SA Health department has already foreshadowed that all non-clinical jobs at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital will also be privatised.

There is no end in sight of privatisation in SA, even with a change in leadership to a Premier from the left faction of the ALP. This is a sign of the times, with the ALP continuing to try and out-do the “Opposition” Liberal Party as “responsible” manager of capitalism for the capitalists in SA!

The strategy may backfire as it did in Queensland earlier this year, with the ALP suffering its biggest ever defeat in a parliamentary state election.