Mood:  bright

Dear [SAM editor],

I read with relish your rejoinder to Kirk McKenzie in New Matilda - well said!

There is so much bullshit written about how state ownership in NSW is keeping the price of electricity high and how a free market would bring prices down.

The attached charts plot electricity pool prices, state against state, for NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

If there really were a national market for electricity each plot would be a diagonal line through the origin with just a few excursions when there were transmission constraints between the states.  There is evidence for the operation of a national market some of the time such as in 2001, but in recent years that has largely disappeared.

It has also been claimed that NSW prices are too high compared with Victoria, ostensibly on account of the lower efficiency due to overmanning and poor work practices.  The chart give the lie to this also.  In 2006 the average pool price in NSW was $3.12 lower than in Victoria.  In 2007 it
might have been $3.67 higher in NSW than Victoria - but the average price in both states had doubled!  So much for the greater efficiency and competition in Victoria bringing down the price of electricity.  I am sure that production costs in each state didn't double overnight.

In 2006 all the generators, both state and private, were complaining that they were losing money hand over fist.  It looks to me like they finally stopped cutting each others throats with their stupid bidding behaviour and
worked out how they can all make huge profits with the right bidding strategy.

All of my data came from the NEMMCo website where it is freely available to the public; all I have done is collated it and charted one state against another with a logarithmic scale that shows the whole range of bids to finally reveal what the hell is going on.

What we have to remember too is that the average pool price will have to go $90 per MWh for wind farms to be financially viable for investors like Babcock & Brown.  That ain't gonna happen unless Babcocks et al can get
their hands on all the thermal stations in the country and push the price up by shrewd bidding practices.  Outright collusion isn't necessary, just tacit acceptance of a few simple rules that they all seem to have learned quite well during 2007.  So if we want to go green to save the planet, we have to bribe investment capital into doing it by doubling electricity prices.  And people like Bob Carr and Paul Keating are standing at the elbow of the investment houses guiding their hand.

I am happy for you to use this information anyway you want because there is nothing stopping you or anyone else from obtaining it like I did.  All I ask if you do so is to remain anonymous ......

Posted by editor at 8:40 PM NZT

Updated: Thursday, 8 May 2008 4:44 PM NZT

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Mood:  lyrical

A nasty pre budget leak of a treasury document has apparently set the cat amongst the pigeons in the Canberra Press Gallery. They are talking about this 'scoop' or 'non story' depending on your party allegiance, by Dennis Shanahan in The Australian page 1:

TREASURY: Coalition leaked warning, PM says

DENNIS SHANAHAN BLOG: IR dragon set to breathe fire 

with this editorial

Wages threat defined, Labor faces conflict over IR and interest rates

But we commented on this crikey.com.au thread as follow:

Time to stop hugging the Liberal corpse Dennis

 [Our comment follows]

Tom McLoughlin Wednesday, 7 May 2008 4:34:41 PM

Call me stupid but my quick reading of Dennis is that the document was "obtained" but doesn't say from whom. It is "subject " of an FOI request but it doesn't say that was the source. Last week Laurie Oakes wrote a story as per Sydney Daily Telegraph Saturday edition that was clearly based on a Howard regime cabinet or cabinet related document. ....What I'm saying is - how do you know Costello isn't the source? And good luck to him too. Who could begrudge the guy some consolation prizes. I mean Dennis virtually gives away that he got it from Costello given the ABCTV were refused the document "last week". Call it dumb intuition but methinks the old Peter Costello is getting a whiff of the old battle smoke in his nostrils.

 Tom#2 Wednesday, 7 May 2008 4:42:02 PM

By the by, it would be one good way to build interest in the Costello memoirs too. A leak here, a leak there. Could turn into quite a crescendo. Mark Latham set the bar quite high with his Diaries. Let er rip I say.

Back on Saturday 26th April 2008 we noted in our obsessive way about the earlier Laurie Oakes article implying Costello was playing politics again as follows:

Costello as former treasurer has apparently leaked a similar 'reform' previously considered by the Howard Govt to veteran Laurie Oakes writing Bulletin style stories out of place in the Daily Telegraph cartoon book:

[offline] Howard plotted to scuttle the states April 26 2008 p26

Maybe a leak so Costello can shore up his dormant leadership ambition? Or to sell his memoirs? Or even to distract from FoI expert Peter Timmins (SMH today) who implies that Costello's Govt deliberately squibbed criminal sanctions for cartel behaviour (like big Liberal Party donors and a certain cardboard box king).

(Actually such stories by 'the sphere Laurie Oakes' are offline for google search in Australia and absent from the Daily Telegraph's own website. But there is a global google search which brings up press screen shots of such stories if you search the exact article name and newspaper. It may be web subscription only - we haven't got that far - and it may be only temporarily accessible. Obviously someone has a buiness model literally scanning the press pages from Australia - maybe via license from local Media Monitors or similar who would be doing this scan anyway (we speak from depressing experience 1999-2001).

And now we have a copy from the blessed recycling here:

Posted by editor at 6:29 PM NZT

Updated: Wednesday, 7 May 2008 7:52 PM NZT

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Mood:  quizzical

To get an understanding of the Sydney Daily Telegraph loyalty to the big alcohol industry one can look to their full page adverts, with a sample here:

Or one can notice articles like this:

29 March 08 Drinking under attack from the new wowsers | The Daily Telegraph

5 May 2008 Laws to ban drinking at home | The Daily Telegraph

5 May 2008 Reader's Comments: Radical laws to ban drinking at home | News.com.au

and this

Or one can read extracts of the Latham Diary about hard drinking news men with 'scores to settle' with loads of people.

Or one can simply take a little tour of the neighbourhood in which their multi-storey headquarters taking up a full city block is located. Which we did:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

Which just left us to take the first picture above of a totally coincidental street frontage - a local fancy dress shop - also very close by. Quite a metaphor for the mask that News Ltd wears regarding legal drugs.

Posted by editor at 5:05 PM NZT

Updated: Wednesday, 7 May 2008 7:56 PM NZT

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Mood:  sharp

[The following receipt of our complaint was received around 5.45 pm 6 May 2008] 

Confirmation

Thank you for contacting the ACCC.

Where possible the staff of the ACCC Infocentre will phone and discuss your inquiry/complaint. This provides an opportunity to better understand your questions and provide a more useful response. The matters you have raised will receive attention by ACCC staff.

Please note that we are experiencing delays in responding to online complaints.

If you have any urgent inquiries please call 1300 302 502.

You submitted the following:

Complainant details

Mr Tom McLoughlin

Age

35-44

Gender

Address

XXXXXXXXXX
Sydney
NSW
Australia
2204

Contact details

XXXXXXXXXX
0410 558838
ecology[at]wix.com.au

Date received

6^th May 2008

Product description

public energy privatisation in NSW

Product provider

Paul Keating, international chairman of Lazard Carnegie Wylie

Complaint description

Keating says in the SMH today: "[in 1997} the power stations were worth $35 billion. A decade later the price discussion for the same stations is about $15 billion. That is, $20 billion in lost value; $20 billion that could have been spent on education, health and vital new infrastructure. A vast sum even by national government standards."

John Kaye MP (Greens) and Phd in electrical engineering no less stated today this was "deeply misleading"."Mr Keating has conveniently ignored the billions of dollars in the low and high voltage network that then Premier Carr wanted to sell off and was included in the $35 billion price tag. "He has wiped out the value of 12,440 km of high voltage transmission lines owned by Transgrid. "He has written down to zero the $10.9 billion assets of the state’s electricity distributors, including 2.2 million power poles and the 169 thousand substations. [end quote].

 Under s.52 and state equivalents of the Trade Practices Act (Commonwealth) it is illegal to engage in conduct that is misleading and deceptive in the course of business. There may be an exemption for news reportage. However we feel that Keating may be in breach of the law of the land as regards honest business practice. Certainly if he repeats these statements outside the newspaper he will be, and he may still have done so. I do believe this is a case for the ACCC to investigate as the corporate watchdog.

Posted by editor at 7:50 PM NZT

Updated: Tuesday, 6 May 2008 8:27 PM NZT

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Mood:  not sure

But of all the people in NSW Parliament on the ALP side he has demonstrable experience managing a large number of people and concerns including in extreme and dangerous circumstances.

We vote for Phil Koperberg as an adequate replacement for the spiv forces congregating around Premier Morris Iemma, subject to his health being okay again.

Some will say he has too much baggage or bruises. On the other hand if PM Kevin Rudd can survive a visit to a strip club as Opposition Leader 'where he saw nothing', and Julie Bishop MP can remain steadfast to WA Leader Troy Buswell, just as NSW MP Reba Meagher could vouch for Joe Tripodi facing sexual harrassment allegations. Well one feels Koperberg with a phalanx of PR spinners can easily rise above that ancient history.

Posted by editor at 11:40 AM NZT

Updated: Wednesday, 7 May 2008 4:26 PM NZT

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Mood:  sad

As major issues of public policy over public energy are being debated in NSW over expansion of the greenhouse generating power industry, this front page story is a serious reminder that no city is safe from this future. Tropical and subtropical cities like Cairns, and Brisbane will move into the cyclone shadow as we understand orthodox global warming predictions:

Coverage today:

Posted by editor at 10:49 AM NZT

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Mood:  down

Stephen Mayne has the story, as did the AFR previous to him: [bold,  text sizing added]

Crikey - Conflicts aplenty in NSW power privatisation debate ...

Tuesday, 29 April 2008

Stephen Mayne writes:

Alex Mitchell has been keeping Crikey readers up to date about the remarkable stand-off inside the NSW ALP over the vexed issue of power privatisation, which will probably see Premier Morris Iemma and Treasurer Michael Costa defeated at Saturday’s special ALP conference.

However, no one has yet mentioned the conflicts of interest involved, especially for key players such as Paul Keating and Bernie Riordan.

Riordan has a double act as ALP President in NSW and secretary of the Electrical Trades Union. He’s the Dean Mighell of NSW but rather than being expelled by the ALP he’s President of the whole show.

Riordan is a solid lefty who has led the campaign against energy privatisation. But how can a bloke who represents a special interest group known as electricity workers dictate the policies of government as they relate to those same workers?

Riordan’s conflicts go to the very heart of the ALP’s gerrymandered structure which guarantees unions 50% of the votes at party forums, irrespective of how many members the unions or the party has.

The heavily conflicted Riordan is exploiting that gerrymander for all it’s worth right now when surely the ALP would have a code of conduct that prevents individual union leaders influencing party policies that relate directly to their industry.

Such a conflict would raise plenty of eyebrows in the corporate world. Then again, this is NSW and Riordan’s left wing supporters point to conflicts amongst his right wing pro-privatisation critics.

The biggest is this: Should Paul Keating be holding meetings with Unions NSW secretary John Robertson and Riordan when he is the international chairman of Lazard Carnegie Wylie, the advisory house which landed the lucrative energy privatisation gig with the NSW Government?

John Wylie is Australia’s leading energy privatisation exponent, as you can see from this list of power deals over the past 15 years.

He led the $30 billion worth of energy sector privatisations for Jeff Kennett and his old firm CS First Boston collected more than $100 million in fees. Wylie’s share is thought to have been well over $20 million.

Wylie left CS First Boston to establish the boutique adviser Carnegie Wylie with his old Oxford mate Mark Carnegie shortly after Kennett lost office. They then came together with Lazard last year which was led in Australia by Paul Keating’s long-time mate Mark Burrows.

If Keating stands to personally profit from NSW belatedly following Jeff Kennett’s lead, then surely he shouldn’t be using his ALP connections to get involved in the lobbying ahead of Saturday’s conference.

In the interests of full disclosure, perhaps the parties should place all the cards on the table. What is the nature of Lazard Carnegie Wylie’s contract with the NSW Government and what is the nature of Paul Keating’s contract with Lazard Carnegie Wylie?

Send your tips to boss@crikey.com.au, submit them anonymously here or SMS tips and photos to 0427 TIP OFF.

..............

Here is Michael Easson - a long time out of the NSW union movement - and deeply in the construction and property side of the industry, none of this declared on ABC 702 morning show at 7.15 am, or a letter published in the Herald today:

 

Pentacle Property Funds Management - Board Of Directors 

Mr. Michael Easson, Non-executive Director

Michael has professional experience across a broad range of industries, is the founder and chairman of the EG Property Group as well as currently a business consultant to Allens Arthur Robinson Lawyers. Michael's directorships include ING Real Estate, InTech, Stadium Australia Management Limited, ACT Electricity and Water (where he is deputy chairman). Michael is a former director of Macquarie Infrastructure Investment Management Limited, the managers of the Macquarie Infrastructure Group.

Posted by editor at 9:16 AM NZT

Updated: Tuesday, 6 May 2008 10:56 AM NZT

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Mood:  not sure

This is not a well packaged story. It’s a contemporaneous traverse of the Sunday television free to air political talkies indicating the agenda of Establishment interests: Better to know ones rivals and allies  in Big Politics and Big Media.

Indeed it’s the tv version monitoring task similar to what Nelson Mandela refers to here in his book Long Walk to Freedom (1994, Abacus) written in Robben Island prison (where he was meant to die like other African resister chiefs of history in the 19C), at page 208

“..newspapers are only a shadow of reality; their information is important to a freedom fighter not because it reveals the truth, but because it discloses the biases and perceptions of both those who produce the paper and those who read it.”

Just substitute ‘Sunday tv political talkie shows’ for "newspapers" in the quote above.

For actual transcripts go to web sites quoted below except with Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.

Media backgrounders

Refer penultimate post. Also Future of Journalism conference.

9 Sunday 7.30 – 9.30 am

Features prefaced, news roundup relegates public energy. Good feature on bulk retailer Cosco, bigger version of Aldi but also like what Campbells were but this one open to the public.

Story about hot street cars ‘their side of the story’.

Coulthard feature on Dr Reeves – grim, looking more and more like a sociopath in professional garb. Scary. Deaths of patients. Escalating crime investigation.

Adbreak is expensive spin advert by NSW govt promoting this website waterislife.nsw.gov.au which is a PR rerun of the 2002-3 electioneering agenda “It’s a living thing” fronted by Christine Anu to run effective interference on damning critique of Carr failings on the environmental promises made and broken. A premier who had run out of puff on sustainability.

Laurie Oakes interview with Robert Ray retiring building on Saturday telegraph column interesting 6 years as taxi driver, great life education, looks like he’s in grieving a little, but truth is he’s been out of the top level of power for maybe 4 years now:

Factional daleks speech – must expand it’s pool of talent. Numbers man is needed but must have wide range of talent still. Leaving national executive, left 8 years, called back 6 times. Leaving to such as Arbib. Re NSW public power assets. Synchronisation of party and membership and parliamentary party. Very difficult issue. Politics is not all bliss. Centralised distribution not generation is his view. Won’t damage Rudd, doubt wreck NSW govt. Would’ve 40 – 50 years ago. Does the national executive have power to over rule state conference. Can over rule but only if contradicts national platform. Both points of view have strongly been argued. A Govt can’t completely ignore its party.  Compare various Prime Ministers. Great in different ways.  Rudd cabinet similar in Hawke re consensus on many things. Keating invective as treasurer done without malice. 5^th columnist approach in late 1991. Not so inspired by Keating. Main enemy was inside. Hawke could have won.

Why support Rudd over Beazley. Not certain but more likely. Missing generations never get to serve scared him. Beazley 1996 took on the job thinking he would never be PM. Politics is partly cyclical. Same for Brendan Nelson.

Regarding Rudd - Be aware of problem of hubris, don’t talk about natural party of govt. Get out of currency. Always be available. Not indulge in generational jealousy.

http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/default.asp

10 Meet the Press:  8- 8-30 am

Press round up Iemma leaves conference with Costa shouting at delegates who vote against him. Sounding hysterical. [lead story SMH also very damaging, displaying strong investigative journalism parallel with Future of Journalism conference].

Mal Turnbull is the talent – 700 to 100 – huge margin, why call it on. He is a broken premier. In office to 2011. Rudd backed Iemma “very strongly” as much a rejection of Rudd. Work in progress for a long time. Politics is art of persuasion – got to think again. Turnbull leaving to OFarrell leave to his judgement. As a matter of principle generality these businesses owned by the private sector. As a citizen and shareholder looks like a distressed seller. Kennett sold at the top of the market. Selling at the bottom of the market.

Chat about baby bonus debate re middle upper class welfare. Etc. Federal budget 9 days away.

Out take first adbreak is Troy Buswell re stock standard ALP emotional violence attack about character. How senior ALP minister exposed as involved with Bourke Inc is not higher in the news is a mystery to this writer as tacky as Buswell admit to have acted.

Panel – Jennifer Hewitt Australian News Ltd, Glenn Milne ditto. Grab from Tony Abbott. Cult of St Kevin. Lucky not leader, Turnbull glinty smile says yes, due loyalty on parade for Nelson. By election in Gippsland. Prefers to not be a “commentator”. “We should hold that seat”.

Internal grassroots democracy in Lib Party etc. ‘Empower’ is very important. About leader maybe not. Healthy debate.

Economy, inflation is a problem over 4%. Agrees. Good question by JH but also looking sharp and relaxed in answer.

JH asks “Good news politician” now?

………………..

Carr fronts MTP 10 as well on the pretext of books segment and no one speaks about that.

It's all about public energy assets. Carr gobbles up the attention in his relevance deprivation syndrome - the man who said the internet was irrelevant to politics no less in 2005-6. Carr urges Iemma drive it through - like cannon fodder for Big Business which is Carr's meal ticket and loyalty to Macquarie Bank on $500K per year.

His advice is totally unsafe. Carr laps up commentary role on Premier Iemma's policy issues. Carr conceds Obama huge fundraising on net, in other words Carr got it WRONG. Alot of talk about donations as per excellent donations story front SMH yesterday (how investigative journalism is done).

Carr talks about forcing police royal commission - really John Hatton (Independent) leveraging Carr's desperate ambition but he didn't really want to do it. Claims education and health capital works programme. Also claiming vindication - on carbon trading scheme.

Not one question about books. How bogus Carr is.

Meet The Press - Watch Political Video Online - Channel TEN.

Riley Diary 7, 8.35 am

Looks like on holidays again, or different time slot? Usually at 8.35 am.

http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/weekend

Insiders 2: 9- 10am

Casssidy leads in with federal budget when the big news surely is the rebuke to Iemma on privatization. Seems curious lead in. Valid though regarding budget in 9 days. Compare MTP lead in.

Sunday papers – re federal budget Meglo Herald Sun, Sunday Age.  5 minutes in and no mention of public power $15B issue. [this is very poor editorial focus]. Ripp off of Obama marketing song re Rudd.

Bolt on unions “dictating” to govt. “Just insane”, that’s the take out for the public says Misha. Wrong.

Emma Griffiths abc tv back from Russia, Iemma left the building, and Costa. Mussolini style flurry, shouted and jeered. More about clash of egos. His ego’s versus everyone else. Iemma crushed in the middle. Morning after, night before. Waiting to hear how Iemma will respond. Damage, opponents in party, and outside the party will exploit. Classic lose lose situation.

Wayne Swan federal budget. No question lead in about NSW power. General discussion on national issues.

Morris Iemma situation, Labor caucus will meet later this week. Iemma should be admired, not finally resolved for a few days. Entirely for the NSW caucus and their leader.

Paul Kelly blah. Meglo struggling to find narrative in this budget. Bolt duly skeptical too.

Discuss Liberal leadership re Nelson sucking up the pain. Press keen for change. Bolt not keen on Turnbull, as not ready.’ Refer to Rudd in Time 100.

Costa footage going like a vaudeville mad man at the microphone, which is “ugly” given he is treasurer and meant to be an authority figure. Totally unsuited to the job. Meglo says the vote 7-1 was about who is unfit to govern. [Cassidy is quite clearly pro privatization of the public’s energy assets. ]

Winnie the Pooh images at campaign headquarters for libs last federal election.

Home page is http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/

Posted by editor at 12:00 PM NZT

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Mood:  energetic

This cover story image above reflects the significant Liberal Party opposition to the sell off. It might be opportunistic. It might be sincere. But the ALP rump led by Iemma claim that the Liberal Party are universally for the sale may be as shaky as their grip on control of the ALP Government itself and the merits case for the sell off policy which was defeated by about 700 to 106 on the ABC tv news last night.

The Carr-Iemma image in yesterday's Saturday Telegraph is from the 2020 Summit gathering only 2 weeks prior showing their real big business alliance. All the same Morris Iemma is looking personally fairly relaxed. Our impression/speculation this is a man who misses his young kids and won't mind if the job is taken off him. If he goes, his kids will surely be better off for it, like young Nathan Albanese/Tebbutt. And if Morris steps down Costa will go too.

By our reckoning former leader Debnam above (who lost his own privatisation policy election and seems to have duly adjusted his thinking), and former NSW attorney general John Dowd (Liberal Party) have both publicly declined the sale policy now. Mal Turnbull on MTP 10 this morning has similarly praised the theory and stood off the practicality of "a distressed seller".

We also notice in terms of commercial tv coverage both Ch9 and 7 are not covering this story as nearly as prominently as the ABC or SunHerald Fairfax today:

Iemma loses power battle Premier Morris Iemma suffered an embarrassing defeat in his bid to settle power privatisation dispute.

• | Lights out for Labor faithful in power debate

Carr fronts MTP 10 as well on the pretext of books segment and no one speaks about that. Following is real time comment typing:

It's all about public energy assets. Carr gobbles up the attention in his relevance deprivation syndrome - the man who said the internet was irrelevant to politics no less in 2005-6. Carr urges Iemma drive it through - like cannon fodder for Big Business which is Carr's meal ticket and loyalty to Macquarie Bank on $500K per year. In other words Carr is talking his book, not the ALP's best interests.

His advice is totally unsafe. Carr laps up commentary role on Premier Iemma's policy issues. Carr conceds Obama huge fundraising on net, in other words Carr got it WRONG. Alot of talk about donations as per excellent donations story front SMH yesterday (how investigative journalism is done).

Carr talks about forcing police royal commission - really John Hatton (Independent) leveraging Carr's desperate ambition but he didn't really want to do it. Claims education and health capital works programme. Also claiming vindication - on carbon trading scheme.

Not one question about books. How bogus Carr is.

Posted by editor at 9:21 AM NZT

Updated: Sunday, 4 May 2008 10:40 AM NZT

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