Key Australian opposition figure George Brandis proudly stated on Friday on ABC TV that his side’s 12 years of power led to this: What we were doing in Government was we were privatising Government businesses. We weren’t creating new Government monopolies.
Showing all posts tagged privatisation
What a bankrupt war breeds
The massive growth in private mercenary companies since 9/11 is exposed with yet another investigation. But the end result? More outsourcing to unaccountable companies who are desperate for wars to continue and expand. Killing is a good business: An Australian-owned security company has been accused of a litany of abuses in Afghanistan – including theft…
Privatising education in Britain (should not be the future and yet)
From the Times Higher Education supplement: No one is suggesting that Sir Michael or Sands put the interests of their employer, or former employer, first. But the Browne Review does symbolise and sanction an insidious aspect of the wider privatisation process, which brings into education-policy formation management consultancies whose policy fixes, although discussed as “improvements”…
Privatisation will keep us warm at night
With the British government massively cutting public spending, expect reliance on the private sector to grow. And little accountability. Just how both sides want it: The scale of the country’s reliance on private companies to power the state is revealed today as the government takes the historic step of publishing its accounts for the first…
Who makes money when more “illegals” are locked away?
While corporate politicians mostly talk about increasing prison numbers and locking more people away, public opinion over the issue is far more complex (if tabloid hysteria is ignored). However, in an increasingly privatised world, this recent NPR story in the US speaks volumes about an unhealthy relationship between a cash-strapped government and private interest: Last…
Robotic and privatised warriors make war far too easy
Malcolm O’Neill, the assistant secretary of the US Defence Force’s Acquisition, Logistics and Technology division: I see in the future a US army with 547,000 active soldiers like we have today and 547,000 ranger buddies – wingmen that would hopefully go into combat with them and hopefully stand in front of them and sacrifice their…
The Wire on detention centre suicide and role of Serco
The suicide yesterday of yet another asylum seeker in Villawood detention centre in Sydney reminds us of the climate of over-crowding and mental trauma perpetuated by the government. I was interviewed by The Wire about the incident and the responsibility of Serco:
Serco looks deaf, dumb and blind in Australia
Another day and another tragedy in Australia’s detention centres. It’s clearly too much for the media to investigate… the role of the company that runs the places, Serco: Detainees at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney are planning a hunger strike today after the suicide of an inmate. It is the second suicide at…
Who knew? Keeping roads in public hands works best
Behold a rarity. Some questioning in the mainstream media about privatising everything: TONY EASTLEY: For years now, toll roads and tunnels have been all the rage in many Australian states. Under the preferred model, the private sector takes the risk, finances the project and earns the profit but critics say the toll road model takes…
Will more doctors really help Australia’s global war effort?
The real agenda behind this story may be two-fold. Firstly, is the implication that Australia could be even more deeply involved in US-led missions across the world if this issue was resolved? And secondly, which “military operations overseas” are we not able to lead? The Defence Force has conceded it is facing a shortage of…