MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

Mr SOON (Banks) (15:44): The member for Ryan has put forward this discussion about privatisation and how to protect the interests of Australian consumers, and it is an important issue. The success of Australia's economy has never come from government alone. As a modern advanced economy, we rely on the contributions from the private sector, government and our workforce to create outcomes.

Neither governments nor the private sector can do everything alone. Even the father of classical economics, Adam Smith, recognised that there are several areas where it is inappropriate for control to be held by an individual or private interest, including infrastructure, education, justice and defence, amongst others. At a fundamental level, the issue with many privatisation pushes is that they run contrary to the expectations of the majority of Australians about which services governments across the three levels ought to provide.

It is important to recognise that privatisation should not be driven by an ideological fervour. When government pursues small government for small government's sake, it creates an environment where public interest is more likely to be lost. We can observe this most clearly in some overseas jurisdictions.

In parts of the UK, for example, the supply of water is almost entirely privatised, with government having the power to set overarching standards. This, unfortunately, has led to higher prices, consolidation and devastating environmental outcomes, with up to 83 per cent of English rivers showing evidence of pollution as a result of sewage and agricultural run-off.

There are also examples here at home. The privatisation of the Victorian state Electricity Commission in the 1990s led to higher prices for consumers and job losses that severely affected regional communities. The privatisation of ports in New South Wales has raised concerns about market power and protecting Australia's national interests.

Good governments do not obfuscate their responsibilities. Governments must work across the public and private sector to create new investment and new opportunities and to build a more productive economy that benefits everyone. We also need to recognise that there are things that government can learn from the private sector, but this does not mean that government lets the private sector have free rein.

One of the pitfalls of some privatisations is that instead of creating competition it entrenches monopolistic conditions in the marketplace. We want businesses to succeed, but we want them to do this by competing fairly, innovating, delivering for consumers and treating workers fairly and without abusing market power or exploiting communities. Australians act responsibly and with integrity, and they expect big business to do the same.

This government is doing the hard work to ensure that big business is not let off the hook for anti-competitive behaviour or breaches of public trust. This Labor government has worked hard to strengthen competition laws with new legislation to protect shoppers against price gouging at the supermarket as well as cracking down on unfair trading practices, increasing penalties for misconduct and introducing the Scams Prevention Framework.

When we talk about privatisations and the role of the private sector in service delivery, we also need to recognise that, too often, the justification for privatisation and outsourcing is created by cuts and neglect, driven over long periods of time, to our public services. When this Labor government came into office in 2022, we inherited a Public Service that had been hollowed out by a decade of outsourcing, cuts and underinvestment.

It left key parts of our Public Service under-resourced, with a reduced capability, leading to longer wait times and poorer outcomes for Australians. This government is making sure that we have a strong Public Service that is capable of delivering the public services we need while also recognising that we need to work across the economy to create growth opportunities and an economy that is more productive for everyone.