Australia’s Productivity Commission, in a recent report, has urged the country’s state and federal governments to sell off a swathe of infrastructure assets including desalination plant.
The commission said the public interest could best be protected through government regulation along with sale conditions and community service obligations, rather than by continued government ownership.
Chief executive of public and private secretor forum, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia Brendan Lyon indicated the report scotched assumptions that private ownership would raise prices. He said the report “effectively dismisses unfounded claims about higher electricity prices from groups opposed to reform. This adds further weight to get the NSW poles and wires reformed and leased, unlocking $20 billion for new infrastructure.”