SA gaming sales may be dead loss

[AussieVamp2]

By Mark Skulley and Katherine Towers


South Australia's political turmoil has raised industry speculation that the planned privatisation of the State TAB and Lotteries Commission will now lapse.

The Minister for Government Enterprises, Dr Michael Armitage, announced this week that legislation dealing with the sale would be delayed to allow further consultation with stakeholders.

But since the State Parliament's current session is due to end next week and it will not sit again until October, the sale would be unlikely to occur until 2001.

The Government can call the next State election as late as March 2002, but political sources said the most likely poll date was November 2001.

Sources familiar with the TAB privatisation plan said yesterday that threatened industrial action, the inability of the sale process to be completed this year and past mistakes over the privatisation of the State electricity industry and water management had caused backbench unrest over the deals.

"It would be impossible for the sale to go through and leave enough time for the dust to settle before an election," one source said.

"First, they have to advertise for expressions of interest, and then sift through those to determine who are genuine or not. Then they have to call for tenders and go through the due process."

A gaming industry source there was "a real chance" the TAB and SA Lotteries would now never be privatised, since the Labor Opposition has ruled out such a deal.

But a spokeswoman for Dr Armitage said last night the timing of the sale was "not expected to be significantly affected by the delay in the legislation" as preparatory work could still proceed.

She said the Government still aimed to complete the sale late this year or in early 2001.

The gambling businesses were initially tipped to fetch between $800 million and $1 billion, but industry sources said wagering taxes would cut the likely price tag to about $500 million.

The hitch in the sell-offs came as government MPs voted on Wednesday to expel a dissident MP, Mr Peter Lewis, after he called for the Premier, Mr John Olsen, to be replaced.

The vote reduced the Olsen Government to minority status in the 47member Lower House, with 23 Liberal MPs, the ALP with 21 and three independents, including Mr Lewis.

Mr Olsen is in London attending Australia's Federation centenary celebrations and is due back in Adelaide next week.

His Government wants to complete the privatisation of the electricity industry around September, but legislation to privatise the State's ports is still before Parliament. It plans to privatise the ports with a 99-year lease

[AussieVamp2]

Government backs down on privatisation bill

By RANDALL ASHBOURNE
ADELAIDE
Thursday 6 July 2000

Plans to privatise South Australia's TAB and state-owned Lotteries Commission have been scratched, at least temporarily, after the Olsen Government ran into a brick wall of opposition in parliament.

The privatisation legislation was withdrawn from parliament yesterday just hours before about 80 workers walked off the job at TAB and Lotteries headquarters to protest against the sales.

Government plans to privatise SA's ports also seem to have been scuttled, with the government suddenly cutting short yesterday's debate because of a backbench revolt by rural Liberal MPs.

Sources said the acting Premier, Rob Kerin, telephoned Premier John Olsen, who is attending Federation celebrations in London, to warn him all three bills seemed destined for defeat if the government tried pushing them through both houses in the next two weeks.

The sudden backdown leaves the government's legislative program in tatters and means any further attempt at privatising the assets must wait until after the three-month parliamentary break, due to start in a fortnight.

Yesterday, Enterprises Minister Michael Armitage was trying to save face, claiming the withdrawal of the legislation would give the Labor Party and two independent MPs more time "to consult with constituents and stakeholders".

But Labor leader Mike Rann pointing out that, even if Liberal independent Rory McEwen and National MP Karlene Maywald voted with Labor, their numbers were not enough to block the bills.

"Clearly, the problem is a Liberal backbench revolt," Mr Rann said.

"Three of the Premier's key privatisations are facing defeat from his own backbench."

He called on Mr Olsen to return from London: "Liberal MPs are feeling the community pressure against these foolish privatisations and Mr Olsen should leave the banquet table in London and fly home urgently."

Mr Rann said the government might call an early winter break, opting not to sit parliament on the three days scheduled next week.

Dr Armitage said the government remains committed to the TAB and Lotteries Commission sales and was "looking forward to reintroducing the legislation as soon as possible".

But, even if the government manages to get its own backbenchers under control, the legislation faces defeat in the upper house where the government is in the minority.

Dr Armitage urged TAB and Lotteries workers to return to the negotiating table, rather than "engage in political scaremongering", but his plea was rejected.

"This is the first battle," said Australian Services Union organiser Maxine Winkley.

Ms Winkley said the union opposed privatisation because it threatened up to 600 jobs and would take money from lotteries and gambling out of the state.

She said strike action planned for Saturday would be called off.

No Pokies MP Nick Xenophon, who believes privatisation of gambling assets will cause a major rise in problem gambling, welcomed the backdown. He urged the government "to take its blinkers off" and go back to the drawing board.

Negotiations continued yesterday as the government tried to salvage its ports privatisation bill.

One Liberal MP said his country colleagues were supporting the legislation in the lower house, but opposing it in the lobbies. "Basically, they're demanding that the government commit itself to spending $40 million or $50 million for dredging and deepening the ports because they don't trust any new private owners to do it - and since the ports are only worth about $120 million, the benefits are beginning to look very dodgy," the MP said.