Port Botany sale will sting public pocket: NSW opposition

26/10/2012 - The sale of Port Botany will drive up the cost of living in NSW as new charges imposed by a private owner will be passed onto the public, the shadow treasurer says.

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In a letter to shadow treasurer Michael Daley, Port Botany industry chiefs said new fees and charges will drive up the price of fuel.

"If petrol prices rise, everything else will go up too," Daley told reporters on Thursday.

"This will put pressure on the cost of living."

Daley couldn't provide a figure for how much petrol price would go up, saying it depended on how much rent was increased.

Treasurer Mike Baird's claims the Independent Pricing and Regulation Tribunal would supervise rents and charges at the port were "scandalously untrue," Daley said.

"The privatisation law, as it stands, contains no control or restraint on price rises and charges and rents at Port Botany."

The opposition will try to amend the bill in the upper house and impose "a reasonable control" on price rises and charges.

Daley also warned the move to privatise the port could force operators to relocate to Melbourne.

Source: AAP

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Have your say...

Alf | 26/10/2012 11:13 1

Here we go again, Labor making comments and dispersions about a problem they themselves forced the NSW government to try and rectifie. They the Liberal party did not put the State into near bankruptcy with years of waste, stupid commitments, ridiculous costing projects and failing to meet the needs of it people that counted. How else is the state going to get out of debt and supply what is really required, It has no choice as it wont get help from the Federal Government and they are as wasteful as the past state government. And I am sorry to say if we the public have to help pay the bill then it is justifiable as it was the majority of these people that put Labor in in the fist place.

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