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Did you know Australia once had an entirely publicly owned electricity system, national airline, pharmaceutical company, bank, telecommunications company and railway system? Each ran incredibly efficiently, providing services for a fraction of the cost they are today, while earning a steady income for State and Federal Governments.
But in the 1990s, all that changed as Labor and the Liberals engaged in the second most aggressive wave of privatisation in the entire OECD. The fire sale handed over hundreds of billions of dollars of public assets to multinational corporations and changed Australia forever.
Privatisation was a bipartisan affair and Labor and the Liberal/Nationals still believe in it. Their basic belief is that the best way to provide services is through the profit motive of big corporations. The results show that this is bullshit.
Come and learn about the history of privatisation in Australia and the devastating effects it had on our country. Hear about how we can reverse privatisation and introduce democratic public ownership of our essential services.
With special guest UQ economist John Quiggan. More speakers TBA.