Brendan Lyon ("Power grid and unions", Your View, October 7) accuses us of "union scaremongering" - he didn't tell you he was a former staffer for Bruce Baird — dad of one Mike Baird who wants to sell; no conflict of interest I'm sure.
As CEO of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia he answers to its board members which include CEOs of Transurban Ltd, Macquarie Capital, Ltd, Moorebank Intermodal Ltd, Lend Lease, Bank of Tokyo, Hastings infrastructure and others.
They wouldn't stand to gain from a sell-off of your electricity assets by virtue of their companies getting jobs, would they?
He says NSW is "out of options" to pay for infrastructure but he didn't say:
■ Since 2001 the electricity sector has provided $14.2 billion to fund other public services.
■ Despite having cheaper/dirtier coal and a much smaller electricity network, electricity prices in Victoria are comparable to NSW.
■ South Australia has the highest electricity prices in Australia and the third-highest in the world following privatisation and price deregulation.
Do your own research and judge on the facts.
If electricity is such a dud asset for the public to own, why would a private operator want to buy it? So they can lose money? I don't think so.
It's the community's asset - don't let politicians sell what you own to self-interested individuals.
Mark Buttigieg, Electrical Trades Union of Australia (NSW branch)
