❓ Mr. Johnston questions the Treasurer about national security concerns regarding the potential sale of Western Power to a foreign government buyer and the impact on the sale price if only Australian buyers are allowed. The Treasurer avoids a direct answer, stating no decision has been made on the sale model or foreign ownership, and emphasizes reliance on FIRB recommendations.
AnsweredQoN 521Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ASSET SALES — WESTERN POWER
521. Mr W.J. JOHNSTON to the Treasurer:
I refer to the Treasurer's
promise to sell Western Power and to Scott Morrison's decision not to
allow the sale of New South Wales power assets to a foreign buyer.
(1) Does the
Treasurer share Scott Morrison's national security concerns about the
potential sale of power assets to a foreign government buyer?
(2) If yes to
(1), what is the expected reduction in the sale price of Western Power now that
only Australian buyers can bid for the privatisation?
521. Mr W.J. JOHNSTON to the Treasurer:
I refer to the Treasurer's
promise to sell Western Power and to Scott Morrison's decision not to
allow the sale of New South Wales power assets to a foreign buyer.
(1) Does the
Treasurer share Scott Morrison's national security concerns about the
potential sale of power assets to a foreign government buyer?
(2) If yes to
(1), what is the expected reduction in the sale price of Western Power now that
only Australian buyers can bid for the privatisation?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
Most of the things that the member jumped to conclusion about are a complete
waste of time, but I will go through them. First, we are pursuing the option of
the sale of Western Power. We are working on the methodology by which we would
sell it. We have not decided one; therefore, we are not at the stage of being
able to put forward anything to the public or indicate whether foreign
ownership or otherwise will be an issue. The member is jumping to conclusions.
Second, as we have indicated clearly and repeatedly for the port of Fremantle,
we will accept whatever the Foreign Investment Review Board and Scott Morrison
recommend. It is their responsibility to do that, and we will accept whatever
it is and whatever the cost is. If it significantly diminishes the value by not
having foreign ownership, so be it—we will not sell it. I might add
that most of the purchases have been by industry super funds owned by unions.
Unions might complain about privatisation but they generally buy them; they put
their future on them. Hypocrisy has never been odd in this case. We will accept
what the FIRB and the commonwealth determine.
The last major asset sale for
TransGrid was purchased by a number of groups, including AustralianSuper. We
would welcome the industry super funds to purchase these assets. We would
encourage them to sell them. Even the Electrical Trades Union's super
fund was involved in the TransGrid transaction. Construction and Building
Unions Superannuation was involved in that transaction. On one side it protests
the sale and then on the other it puts its future on the line for those assets.
We will accept what the FIRB does. We have not got to a position of promoting
the model or deciding to sell it. As to whether Australians will continue to
own the asset, I think the Australian super funds have shown in the past that
they are willing and ready to pay top dollar for good assets like Western
Power.
Most of the things that the member jumped to conclusion about are a complete
waste of time, but I will go through them. First, we are pursuing the option of
the sale of Western Power. We are working on the methodology by which we would
sell it. We have not decided one; therefore, we are not at the stage of being
able to put forward anything to the public or indicate whether foreign
ownership or otherwise will be an issue. The member is jumping to conclusions.
Second, as we have indicated clearly and repeatedly for the port of Fremantle,
we will accept whatever the Foreign Investment Review Board and Scott Morrison
recommend. It is their responsibility to do that, and we will accept whatever
it is and whatever the cost is. If it significantly diminishes the value by not
having foreign ownership, so be it—we will not sell it. I might add
that most of the purchases have been by industry super funds owned by unions.
Unions might complain about privatisation but they generally buy them; they put
their future on them. Hypocrisy has never been odd in this case. We will accept
what the FIRB and the commonwealth determine.
The last major asset sale for
TransGrid was purchased by a number of groups, including AustralianSuper. We
would welcome the industry super funds to purchase these assets. We would
encourage them to sell them. Even the Electrical Trades Union's super
fund was involved in the TransGrid transaction. Construction and Building
Unions Superannuation was involved in that transaction. On one side it protests
the sale and then on the other it puts its future on the line for those assets.
We will accept what the FIRB does. We have not got to a position of promoting
the model or deciding to sell it. As to whether Australians will continue to
own the asset, I think the Australian super funds have shown in the past that
they are willing and ready to pay top dollar for good assets like Western
Power.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.