2006/18: Should Snowy Hydro Limited have been privatised?
Picture: The Snowy Scheme memorial park in Cooma, NSW flies the flags of the many nations which contributed migrant workers. Inset: Prime Minister Ben Chifley officially opens the Scheme in 1949, at Adaminaby, NSW. Related issue outlines:
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What they said ...
'I believe that we can proceed with the sale confident the Australian community can only benefit from this sale' The Prime Minister, John Howard
'I did not anticipate the strength of public feeling. And it's always been my disposition that if there is no long-term national benefit at stake, if the public is unhappy with something, you shouldn't go ahead with it' The Prime Minister, John Howard
The issue at a glance
In December, 2005, the New South Wales Government announced it would sell its 58% share in Snowy Hydro Limited. The federal and Victorian governments followed, announcing they would sell their respective 13% and 29% stakes. Pre-registration for shares in Snowy Hydro opened in mid May and it was expected that the float would take place in July.
However, on 2 June, 2006, the federal government announced that it would no longer sell its stake in the project, effectively forcing the New South Wales and Victorian governments to abandon the sale. The aborted sale followed strong opposition from the public, including government MPs and prominent Australians.
Problems remain. There is now some question over the future direction of the company, as it is unable to raise new capital to fund new projects. Morris Iemma, the premier of New South Wales, has ruled out the capital requirements being funded by New South Wales taxpayers.
Background
Snowy Hydro Limited
Previously known as the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority, the Snowy Hydro Limited is a corporation in Australia jointly owned by the Commonwealth (13%), New South Wales (58%) and Victorian (29%) Governments. The head office of the corporation is in Cooma.
The company manages the Snowy Mountains Scheme which generates on average around 4500 gigawatt hours of renewable energy each year, which is around 74% of all renewable energy in the National Electricity Market in 2005. The scheme also diverts water for irrigation from the Snowy River Catchment west to the Murray and Murrumbidgee River systems.
In addition to owning the Snowy Mountains Scheme, the company owns an energy retailer in Victoria, Red Energy and a 300MW gas-fired power station. The company is also presently constructing an additional 320MW gas peaking generation plant in Victoria.
The original Snowy Mountains Scheme
This is a massive water diversion and storage scheme, taking water from the eastern slopes of the Australian Alps (part of the Great Dividing Range) in eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales through pipes, tunnels and aqueducts into a series of dams, for use in hydro-electric power generation and irrigation in the Murrumbidgee and Murray valleys. The scheme created two major artificial lakes, Lake Eucumbene and Lake Jindabyne as well as a number of smaller lakes and pondages.
The associated Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme is one of the most complex integrated water and hydro-electric power schemes in the world. The scheme interlocks 7 power stations and 16 major dams through 145 kilometres of trans-mountain tunnels and 80 kilometres of aqueducts. The Scheme is in an area of 5,124 square kilometres, almost entirely within the Kosciuszko National Park.
The Scheme took 25 years to build, from 1949 to 1974, at the historical cost of $800 million, a dollar value equivalent today to $6 bn. It employed over 100,000 people from over thirty countries in its construction, providing valuable employment for a large number of recently arrived immigrants, and was important in Australia's post-war economic and social development. The Scheme built several temporary towns for its construction workers, several of which have become permanent: Cabramurra (the highest town in Australia); and Khancoban. Additionally, the economy of Cooma has been sustained by the Scheme.
The Scheme is the largest renewable energy generator in mainland Australia and plays a pivotal role in the operation of the national electricity market, generating approximately 3.5% of the mainland grid's power. The Scheme also has a significant role in providing security of water flows to the Murray-Darling Basin. The Scheme provides approximately 2100 gigalitres of water a year to the Basin, providing additional water for an irrigated agriculture industry worth about $5 bn per annum, representing more than 40% of the gross value of the nation's agricultural production.
Internet information
On March 15 2001 On-Line Opinion published a comment by Professor Lance Endersbee. Lance Endersbee is a civil engineer and his early professional career included 27 years in engineering practice followed by 13 years at Monash University. His career in engineering practice included service with the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority, the Hydro-Electric Commission of Tasmania and the United Nations in South-East Asia as an expert on dam design and hydro power development.
Professor Endersbee's comment is titled 'Corpratising the Snowy Mountains Scheme: hijacking environmental concerns for commercial gain'. Professor Endersbee argues that corpratising the Snowy Mountains Scheme would place environmental considerations at risk. This opinion was written before the corpratisation of the Scheme in 2002. The full text of this article can be found at http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=1224
On January 7, 2006, the federal Finance Minister, Senator Nick Minchin issued a media release titled 'No threat to water rights in Snowy Hydro sale' which reassured farmers relying on water from the Snowy River that their access would not be threatened by the privatisation of Snowy Hydro Limited.
The full text of this release can be found at http://www.financeminister.gov.au/media/2006/mr_022006.html
On February 15 2006 the Greens in Victoria issued a media release titled ' Greens say Snowy sell-off leaves states up the creek'
The release details the possible negative impact of irrigators and on the health of the river system. The full text of the release can be found at http://www.vic.greens.org.au/content/media/media-releases/150206SnowySellOff
On March 29, 2006, Green Left Weekly published a comment and analysis titled, 'Snowy privatisation: A breach of democracy'. The article was written by Zoe Kenny and criticised both the processes that had lead to the proposed sale and its probable consequences. The full text of the article can be found at http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2006/662/662p10b.htm
On May 29, 2006, The Sydney Morning Herald state political correspondent, Anne Davies, had published an analysis and opinion piece titled, 'Sky won't fall with Snowy privatisation'. The piece suggests that water access concerns if Snowy Hydro were sold have been exaggerated and it also stresses the New South Wales government's financial imperatives for the sale.
The full text of this article can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/sky-wont-fall-with-snowy-privatisation/2006/05/28/1148754868734.html
On June 2, 2006, the Prime Minister, John Howard, announced that the federal government was withdrawing from sale its 13% share Snowy Hydro. The text of the media release in which this announcement was made can be found at http://www.pm.gov.au/news/media_releases/media_Release1959.html
Arguments in favour of privatising Snowy Hydro Limited
1. The sale of Snowy Hydro Limited would advantage Australian taxpayers
The Australian prime minister, Mr Howard, supported the move saying, 'I believe that we can proceed with the sale confident the Australian community can only benefit from this sale.'
The same position was put in more detail by the federal Finance Minister, Senator Nick Minchin. Senator Minchin stated, 'The Australian government views the sale of its minority 13 percent share as being in the interests of Australian taxpayers, and consistent with our strong support for the privatisation of government-owned electricity generators and increased competition in the electricity market, particularly in NSW.'
A similar claim has been made by the premier of New South Wales, Mr Morris Iemma, who has stated, 'I understand the concerns that have been raised, but it's a decision that's in the best interests of the taxpayers of New South Wales.'
2. Snowy Hydro Limited requires further investment which should not be asked of New South Wales taxpayers
The New South Wales Finance Minister, Mr John Della Bosca, has defended the sale of the Snowy Hydro Ltd by claiming it was expanding into the national energy market and needed large scale investment to make it competitive.
According to this line of argument, the funding needed to expand Snowy Hydro Ldt would be in large part spent developing its facilities in and capacity to service other states and it is not reasonable to expect New South Wales taxpayers to finance such growth.
Mr Della Bosca has stated, 'Already, Snowy Hydro Ltd has used $500 million of [New South Wales] taxpayer money to buy and build gas power stations and an energy retailer in Victoria. It is likely the company will seek similar investments in Queensland, South Australia and possibly Tasmania. This is an excellent strategy for the company but NSW taxpayers have little to gain from investing in interstate power companies.' Mr Della Bosca has also stated, 'The sale will secure the future of Snowy Hydro. We've looked at all sorts of arrangements to raise more capital. Snowy is at a point where it's not responsible for it to go further into debt and the best thing for it, to be able to do, is raise capital on the stock exchange.'
3. The sale of Snowy Hydro Limited would be of immediate financial advantage to New South Wales and Victoria
Commentators have noted that the New South Wales Government was relying on the $1.5 billion in proceeds from its share of the sale of Snowy Hydro Limited to defray the costs of its massive debt-funded infrastructure program.
The New South Wales premier, Mr Morris Iemma, had previously stated, 'By selling our share in Snowy, it frees up capital that we can invest in infrastructure in New South Wales, and also create jobs in New South Wales.'
The Victoria premier, Steve Bracks, announced that most of the proceeds from the sale of Victoria's share of Snowy Hydro Limited would be invested in a school building fund - Building Tomorrow's Schools Today.
'This will be the biggest one-off investment in school building projects in the State's history,' Mr Bracks said.
The Victorian Education Minister, Lynne Kosky, said, 'The new fund will modernise up to 100 schools, particularly those in disadvantaged areas that were built in the 1950's and 1960's. It will also deliver a $50 million boost to schools across the State for maintenance funding, and will invest in quality facilities including science, sport, and higher academic achievement.'
4. Environmental flow protections would have been put in place
In a media release published on February 13, 2006, on behalf of Senator Nick Minchin, the federal Minister for Finance, it was stated, 'The NSW and Victorian Governments have announced an increased financial commitment to the Snowy Water Inquiry Outcomes Implementation Deed (SWIOID) as part of their agreement to proceed with the sale. The Australian Government remains committed to the National Water Initiative and the health of the Snowy River and Murray-Darling Basin, and will consider the Victorian Government's request to further strengthen this commitment.
On May 3, 2006, the New South Wales Minister for Finance, John Della Bosca, gave the following assurances in state parliament, 'The sale of Snowy Hydro Limited will not affect the availability of water for either irrigation purposes or environmental flows. It is crucial to set the record straight and dispel the myths that have been circulating lately, particularly in the past week or so. Most honourable members will know that water in the Snowy hydro scheme is not only used to generate electricity; it is also released into the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers for irrigation and into the Snowy River as environmental flows. That is part of the engineering genius that is so widely admired.
It is important to acknowledge the protections that are already in place, protections that ensure that the sale of Snowy Hydro Limited will have no impact on water use on either side of the mountains. Water use will continue to be protected by a series of agreements made between the New South Wales, Victorian and Australian governments when Snowy Hydro Limited was corpratised in 2002. All parties put a great deal of time and effort into getting the balance exactly right between the competing water interests-the environmental flows, water for irrigators and water for clean renewable hydro electricity. It was accepted by all parties that we got the balance right.'
5. The irrigation rights of farmers will continue to be protected
In a media release published on January 7, 2006, on behalf of Senator Nick Minchin, the federal Minister for Finance, it was stated, 'Since the New South Wales Government announced its intention to sell its 58% stake in Snowy Hydro Limited late last year, there has been widespread misinformation and scaremongering about the consequences of such a sale for irrigators' water rights and environmental water flows.
The Minister jointly responsible for the Australian Government's shareholding in Snowy Hydro and the sale of government-owned assets, the Minister for Finance and Administration, Senator Nick Minchin, today rejected any such links between the company's ownership and water rights, which are enshrined in legislation, licenses and other contractual agreements.
"As the NSW Premier has repeatedly confirmed, there will be no change to the comprehensive water management arrangements that were introduced for the benefit of the community when the Snowy Scheme was corpratised in 2002," Senator Minchin said.
It was disappointing to read media reports today that the NSW Opposition is claiming irrigators' water rights would be threatened by a privatisation of Snowy Hydro. They should know that no such threat exists.
"It is a complete furphy to suggest water rights would be threatened or in any way affected by a change of ownership of Snowy Hydro - they would not be," Senator Minchin said.'
In a media release dated February 13, 2006, Senator Minchin further stated, 'The sale of Snowy Hydro will not affect water flows down the Snowy, Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers. At the time of corpratisation of Snowy Hydro in 2002, agreements were introduced which regulate and secure water flows.
Snowy Hydro does not own the water, and the company will remain bound by the New South Wales Government's licensing arrangement, regardless of ownership.'
6. There were to have been foreign ownership caps had the sale proceeded
One of the concerns expressed about the sale of Snowy Hydro Limited was that it was likely to be bought by foreign investors who might not continue to operate it in what was believed to be the best interests of Australians. The three governments involved proposed to take measures to limit the extent of foreign ownership and thus, hopefully, to protect Australian interests. The New South Wales, Victorian and Federal governments indicated they would limit foreign ownership of the Snowy Hydro Scheme, and impose conditions on its new owners.
It was announced on May 30, 2006, that legislation was top be introduced into federal Parliament the following month to limit foreign ownership to 35 per cent, and to stop any foreign individual or company owning more than 15 per cent.
The bill was also intended to ensure that the head office of Snowy Hydro would remain in Cooma, in New South Wales, and that at least two-thirds of the board - including the chairman - must be Australian citizens.
7. There was significant market interest in Snowy Hydro Limited
Snowy Hydro is a highly successful corporation which has significant potential to attract investors. It is a leading provider of peak and renewable energy electricity in the national electricity market, supplying around 74 per cent of the renewable energy available in the mainland National Electricity Market.
The company has claimed that since its corpratisation in 2002, it has delivered consistently strong financial results. For 2004-05 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization were $273 million and net profit after tax was $148 million.
Snowy Hydro is upgrading its hydro assets, is building new hydro generation facilities on its Jindabyne and Jounama Dams, has purchased the 300 megawatt Valley Power gas fired peaking power station in the La Trobe Valley in Victoria , and is constructing the 320 megawatt Laverton North gas fired peaking power station in Melbourne . In 2004 it entered the retail electricity business through the acquisition of Red Energy, which operates in Victoria and is expanding into other states.
The Snowy Hydro initial public offering was presented as the biggest float on the Australian share market this year.
Independent Victorian Menber of Parliament, Craig Ingram, has stated, 'Let's not forget, you can't privatise anything, you can't sell anything unless it actually makes money. The scheme makes money, so it's very marketable.'
Analysts had judged that the Snowy Hydro sale would have been well-supported by the market. This view was shared by the New South Wales Finance Minister, John Della Bosca, who stated, 'What I can assure you of is that there will be a genuine market response, a genuine market float and I'm very confident that the market will treat Snowy with the respect it deserves.'
After the decision was taken by all three governments involved not to proceed with the sale of Snowy Hydro Limited, market analyst Michael Heffernan stated, 'The shelving of the Snowy Hydro float will disappoint investors who desire access to other infrastructure assets.'
Arguments against privatising the Snowy Hydro Ltd
1. Water is too important a resource to have its management in private hands
It has been claimed that the principal aim of any company is the maximisation of profits for its owners or shareholders. This is of concern to some because they believe that increasing profits can be at odds with other social obligations that a company may have. Therefore, if a company is supplying a vital and scarce resource, such as water, the company's desire to make profits may run counter to the needs of many within the community who rely upon equitable supply
Former Prime Minister, Mr Malcolm Fraser, has stated, 'Water's a scarce resource for the whole continent and to have its best use determined by a private company whose interest is profit for shareholders is not going to lead to the best answer.'
Independent Victorian Member of Parliament, Craig Ingram, said opponents were against privatising water, particularly as the Snowy Hydro corporation controlled the headwaters of the Snowy, the Murray and the Murrumbidgee - 'three of this country's greatest rivers'.
2. The water flows are of environmental significance
The Snow Hydro scheme has had enormous environmental impacts. Most of the water from the Snowy River has been diverted and the river and the ecosystems that rely upon it are in a dire state.
The original plan was for 99% of the water of the Snowy River's natural flow to be diverted by the scheme below Lake Jindabyne. Releases from the scheme took no account of ecosystem needs. Soon the lower reaches of the river were in environmental crisis. An extensive public campaign led to the Snowy Water Inquiry being established in January 1998. The Inquiry reported to the New South Wales and Victorian Governments in October of that year, recommending an increase to 15% of natural flows.
In 2000, Victoria and NSW agreed to a long-term target of 28%, requiring $375 million of investment to offset losses to inland irrigators. In August 2002 flows were increased to 6%, with a target of 21% within 10 years.
There have been major concerns expressed that these environmental flows will be joepardised if Snowy Hydro Limited is privatised.
Adrian Piccoli, the state member for Murrumbidgee, has noted, 'Another issue relates to guarantees on water releases out of Snowy Hydro as a privatised company. In the short term I believe that nothing will change ... However, I am concerned about what might happen in future with a private company owning Snowy Hydro. In almost every other privatisation promises are made by Ministers and governments give commitments, but in future years everything changes.'
Greg Barber, Victorian Greens candidate in this year's state election, has stated, 'The politics of getting more water back into the rivers have been difficult to say the least. By agreeing to sell, the Victorian Government, along with its Federal, New South Wales and South Australian partners, will hand the Snowy over to a group of private shareholders who will fight like hell to stop us getting more water back in the rivers.'
Independent Victorian Menber of Parliament, Craig Ingram, also did not accept assurances from the Victorian, New South Wales and Howard governments that the water licence stipulating the level of flows down the rivers would survive a change of ownership.
Mr Ingram stated, 'Privatising the control of water in the head waters of those rivers really restricts the ability for governments into the future to adjust irrigation entitlements and environmental flows as changes in circumstances or scientific information come about.'
3. Snowy Hydro Limited is an Australian icon
The Snowy Hydro Scheme is generally regarded as a national icon and is credited with driving Australia's immigration boom after the Second World War. 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries helped create what is considered one of Australia's greatest feats of engineering.
It has been claimed by many of those opposed to the sale of Snowy Hydro Limited that the project is of great cultural importance to many Australians and that its emotional and symbolic significance is such that it should remain in public hands.
Malcolm Maiden, writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, stated, 'The scheme has undeniable significance, as a monumental piece of engineering and as the creation of an skilled and unskilled immigrant workforce that was the precursor of multiculturalism.'
Former Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, similarly stated during an ABC radio interview, 'It's a great Australian icon and I think it [the proposed sale] represents privatisation gone mad.'
Its cultural importance was part of the argument Mr Howard used to justify his government's change of position on the sale of its share of Snowy Hydro Limited.
The Prime Minister has stated, '... the Snowy has become part of the post World War II story of the development and expansion of this country, the immigration and all of those wonderful stories of people mixing and becoming Australians.'
3. The sale of Snowy Hydro Limited was opposed by many people
There was significant popular opposition to the sale of Snowy Hydro Limited.
Kenneth Davidson, a columnist for The Age, has observed, 'Every privatisation, I think without exception, that has occurred over the last 10 years, the overwhelming majority of the population have been against it when there have been surveys.'
A letter signed by 56 prominent Australians was presented to the federal, New South Wales and Victorian parliaments on June 1 calling on them to suspend the sale of the Snowy Hydro scheme. Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser, poet Les Murray, former governor-general Bill Hayden, Justice Marcus Einfeld, QC, former senator John Button, former Snowy commissioner Vin Good and actor Cate Blanchett were among the signatories to the letter.
The strength of popular opposition to the privatisation was a major reason offered by the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, for his government's decision not to continue with the sale of its share of Snowy Hydro Limited. Mr Howard has stated, 'I did not anticipate the strength of public feeling. And it's always been my disposition that if there is no long-term national benefit at stake, if the public is unhappy with something, you shouldn't go ahead with it'
4. Privatising Snowy Hydro Limited would lose the New South Wales, the Victorian and the federal governments the current and potential funds they gain from it
It has been argued that revenues generated by Snowy Hydro Limited are currently very substantial and that with the probable increasing value of water, these revenues are likely to grow. Therefore, it is claimed, it is foolish to give up for short-term profit, a resource which has the capacity to continue to generate substantial income over the long-term.
Adrian Piccoli, the state member for Murrumbidgee, has noted in relation to New South Wales, 'The Government has failed to recognise that when it sells Snowy Hydro Limited it loses a $180 million annual revenue source that it has been able to use, and would be able to use in future.'
Max Talbot, an engineer on the scheme for 24 years, has noted that the new owner will control water from the scheme for the next 72 years. 'That water, going forward in the future will be many, many, many times worth what they might be able to get out of selling electricity,' Mr Talbot said. 'To sell this for electricity generation, with water being a side issue is really the wrong thing to do.'
A similar point has been made by Kenneth Davidson, a columnist for The Age, who has suggested that the value of the water will ultimately become so great that any government is foolish to sell away the right to exploit it.
Mr Davidson has written, 'The water rights are for 72 years. In less than I would say a decade, decade-and-a-half, water will be a more valuable resource worldwide than oil, and here we are putting this tremendous resource, Australian resource, in the hands of private investors. It's a no-brainer, in my book.'
5. Privatising Snowy Hydro Limited could deny farmers the irrigation water they need.
The Snowy scheme has a 72-year licence to 'collect, divert, store and release' water from melted snow on the Snowy Mountains. Each year, the corporation is obliged to release at least 1026 gigalitres into the Murrumbidgee River and 1062GL into the Murray.
Farmers who rely on Murrumbidgee and Murray water for their living have been concerned the company would only release water when it did not need it. Most of the problems the Murray-Darling Basin Commission has had with Snowy Hydro have related to its secrecy in telling irrigators when it was going to release water.
There was even greater concern that if Snowy Hydro Limited had been sold then farmers would have had even less guarantee of access to the water they needed. The Murray Darling Association has claimed there had been no reliable guarantees that licensed irrigators would have been protected had Snowy Hydro been sold. There were apprehensions that the commercial operation of Snowy Hydro would mean that power generation would take precedence over water supply.
After the decision not to sell Snowy Hydro Limited, the president of the New South Wales Farmers Association, Mr Jock Laurie, noted, 'Our members were deeply concerned about water supply if the Aussie icon was sold and the massive impact it could have on agricultural production.'
6. The New South Wales Government was proposing to sell Snowy Hydro Limited for short-term economic and electoral advantage
A commentator writing in the Sunday Telegraph has observed, 'The Hydro sale is nothing more than a short-term grab for cash. It does not add one jot of value to the economy, to energy infrastructure, to taxpayers or to investors.'
Alan Ramsey, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, has further claimed, 'NSW's Iemma Government, with its 58 per cent share of Snowy Hydro's ownership, is desperate to get the sale at least on the books before the end of June. It needs $1.7 billion (hopefully) to make its coming budget balance before next year's March election. Labor is terrified of a bad budget figure and, thus, a possible downgrading in the state's credit rating.'
7. Governments generally do not have the authority to sell public assets
It is claimed by some that facilities paid for by the Australian taxpayer cannot simply be sold by any government. According to this line of argument, any government, state or federal, merely holds such assets in trust over the period it is managing the economy. It does not own these assets, the people do, and so it has no right to permanently alienate these assets through privatisation. The only possible exception to this is when the potential sale has been part of a party platform going into an election and therefore has been approved by the electorate.
Alan Ramsey, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, has stated, 'Various governments - state and federal - have sold at least $82 billion of Australia's public assets over the past 20 years. Something like half has gone to foreign buyers. The three most prolific sellers have been the Howard Government, Victoria's former Kennett government and federal Labor's deceased Keating government.
None of this is contestable. In December 1997 the Reserve Bank published the details of the first 10 years of what is coyly called privatisation. That is, politicians selling what the nation's taxpayers collectively own.'
New South Wales Greens Member of the Legislative Council, Mr Ian Cohen, argued, 'The Snowy Hydro is not Morris Iemma's, it belongs to the people of New South Wales, who want it to be kept in public hands.'
Further implications
The decision not to privatise Snowy Hydro Limited has left a number of question marks hanging over the corporation.
Since it was corpratised in 2002, Snowy Hydro Limited has already begun to function far more as a corporate entity seeking profit than a government utility supplying a service. One of the factors behind the New South Wales Government's decision to sell its stake in Snowy Hydro was that the corporation was seeking to expand its capital base and the New South Wales government was not prepared to invest further taxpayer funds in it. Premier Iemma has reiterated that decision since the failure of his attempt to privatise at least New South Wales' stake in the corporation.
The federal government, when it took the lead in withdrawing its stake in Snowy Hydro from the float, made it plain that it had no intention of buying a larger holding in the corporation, nor of investing in its further expansion. This would appear to put Snowy Hydro Limited's expansion plans on hold for the immediate future.
After the failure of the sale, there were a number of calls for the federal government to assume full control of the corporation. Those who sought this were generally not concerned about guaranteeing the corporation's future profit-generating potential, rather they were concerned with either guaranteeing the supply of irrigation water to farmers who rely on the Snowy or with guaranteeing the continued release of environmental flows in an attempt to restore the health of the Snowy River. It would appear that the corporation's financial interests may well be at odds with the irrigation and environmental issues that drove many of those who opposed the sale of Snowy Hydro Limited.
On a political level, the decision to withdraw from the sale has allowed the federal government to present itself as responsive to the wishes of the people, while at the same time embarrassing and financially distressing two Labor state governments. New South Wales has been left in a particularly awkward position. It initiated the move to sell the corporation and it was and remains particularly in need of the moneys that the sale would have generated. Approaching a state election it has been caught wrong-footed and under-funded.
Newspaper items used in the compilation of this issue outline The Age:
AGE, May 24, page 3, news item by K Murphy, `Experts question legality of $3bn Snowy sale'.
AGE, June 1, page 21, comment by Kenneth Davidson, `Victoria shouldn't play follow-the-leader in selling off the Snowy'.
AGE, May 31, page 6, news item by K Murphy, `Snowy uproar forces sale legislation'.
AGE, May 26, page 3, news item by A Stafford, `Howard says he will listen to critics, but still intends to sell Snowy Hydro'.
AGE, June 3, Insight section, page 8, editorial, `Snowy Hydro outrage strands leaders midstream'.
AGE, June 3, page 5, comment by Malcolm Fraser, `No vision'.
AGE, June 3, page 2, news item by Michelle Grattan et al, `$3bn triple surrender to popular pressure'.
AGE, June 2, page 6, news item by Murphy and Guerrera, `Iemma rules out conscience vote on Snowy sale'.
The Australian:
AUST, April 10, page 3, news item by Rick Wallace, `$450m Snowy "sting" revealed'.
AUST, May 24, page 5, news item by Dennis Shanahan, `Keep control of Snowy: Lib MP'.
AUST, June 1, page 14, analysis (with boxed information, chronology of events) by Hannan and Wallace, `Against the flow'.
AUST, June 1, page 13, editorial, `Sensible Snowy sale'.
AUST, May 29, page 7, news item by Rick Wallace, `Diverse groups in Snowy lawsuit'.
AUST, May 27, page 5, news item by Mitchell and Uren, `Beazley supports Snowy Hydro sell-off'.
AUST, May 25, page 3, news item by Rick Wallace, `Farmers launch $2bn challenge to sale of Snowy'.
AUST, June 7, page 14, comment by Paul Kelly, `Pollies bow to pull of the past'.
AUST, June 7, page 14, comment by Janet Albrechtsen, `Reason sunk in a torrent of emotion'.
AUST, June 6, page 15, editorial, `Treasure island'.
AUST, June 6, page 6, news item by Rick Wallace, `Bills to keep Snowy safe from privatisation'.
AUST, June 3, page 16, editorial (with cartoon), `Cynical Snowy stunt'.
AUST, June 3, page 1, news item by Maiden and Shanahan, `Feds push for water takeover'.
AUST, June 3, page 7, news item by Imre Salusinszky, `Howard should buy it all, says Costa'.
AUST, June 3, page 7, news item by Cath Hart, `Men who built the scheme drink to sale's collapse'.
AUST, June 3, page 7, news item by Ewen Hannan, `Snowy cash not crucial: Bracks'.
AUST, June 2, page 2, news item by Mitchell and Kerr, `Turnbull in push for Snowy sale deal'.
The Herald-Sun:
H/SUN, June 5, page 20, comment by John Ferguson, `Bracks is dam lucky'.
H/SUN, June 3, page 7, analysis by McManus and Harvey, `Going with the flow'. Using google to find newspaper items still available on the Web
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