ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY PRIVATISATION
The Hon. J. H. JOBLING: My question without notice is directed to the Treasurer and Minister for Energy. Is it a fact that once again the unions have rejected the Treasurer’s plans for electricity privatisation for New South Wales, despite his attempts to change their minds? What was the final cost of the recently held and Government-funded union delegates conference at the Millennium Hotel at Kings Cross to discuss electricity privatisation? How many delegates attended at taxpayers’ expense?
The Hon. J. F. Ryan: Table the menus.
The Hon. M. R. EGAN: In fact the menus were on the front page of the Daily Telegraph.
The Hon. J. H. Jobling: Didn’t they invite you?
The Hon. M. R. EGAN: Yes, I was there, as was the Premier.
The Hon. R. T. M. Bull: Was it worthwhile?
The Hon. M. R. EGAN: It was worthwhile. About 300 delegates attended the conference. Some 600 delegates wanted to attend.
The Hon. R. T. M. Bull: You should have got a bigger hotel.
The Hon. M. R. EGAN: If a bigger hotel had been available at short notice, I certainly would have taken it. The conference was a fabulous opportunity to talk to workers from all the New South Wales electricity utilities. I know that Opposition members do not think we should talk to workers, but only to board rooms at the big end of town. However, the Government takes seriously the rights of the 13,500 men and women who work in the power industry. They have a legitimate role to play in discussions about the future of their industry.
The Hon. Dr B. P. V. Pezzutti: You want to sell them. You want to flog them off.
The Hon. M. R. EGAN: As the Hon. Dr B. P. V. Pezzutti says, I want to sell the industry. I wanted to get together with the representatives of the 13,500 workers in the industry - the distributors, the generators, the retail side of the distributors and the transmission system - so that they knew exactly where I was coming from and I would have a better appreciation of their concerns.
The Hon. J. H. Jobling: Two nights?
The Hon. M. R. EGAN: Two nights for all the delegates who lived out of Sydney. My only regret is that I have not held such a conference of work representatives a lot earlier, and I propose to
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hold a number of other conferences. The two days were certainly worthwhile.