Sale only option
Michael Tynan (Your View, February 17) has been a tireless advocate for Sutherland Shire road improvements for decades.
His frustration with ongoing traffic congestion is no surprise. The state government has announced $10 million to fund improvements at four major local intersections.
The government is already spending $11 million planning the F6. The previous Labor government cancelled the F6 which Barry Collier said would be built "over [his] dead body".
Post-dating Michael's letter, the government has announced reservation of $11 million to improve Kingsway and $11 million to improve Taren Point Road-Rocky Point Road from the proceeds of leasing 49 per cent of the electricity network.
It plans to use those proceeds to build a motorway south to Kogarah and an additional $300 million improving major arterial roads in southern Sydney.
These are part of a revolutionary program to improve roads and public transport across Sydney.
Labor opposes the lease of 49 per cent of the "poles and wires".
They have no other plans or funds to fix the infrastructure backlog we inherited from them. Only the Baird Liberals do.
Mark Speakman, Cronulla MP
Power costs will rise
Mike Baird's government has made much of its proposed sale of 49 per cent of the NSW electricity grid's "poles and wires" — the infrastructure that carries all of our electricity.
The poles and wires are a state-owned asset that is leased to the various electricity companies to provide power to our homes.
We have been promised that proceeds from the sale will be used to fund major projects such as a second harbour tunnel.
What we are not told is that the sale — to companies who will pay up to $20 billion — will lead to a substantial increase in electricity costs.
Why will this be so?
Well, the companies which have invested (by borrowing) such a huge sum of money want to be able to pay that money back and make a profit on their investment. Where will the money come from? It will come from your increased power bill.
If families and businesses in the shire thought that the carbon tax was going to reduce their standard of living (and found later that it did nothing of the sort), the sale of the poles and wires definitely will increase electricity costs.
As shire residents, we need to contact our local politicians to ask them to explain what the sale of state-owned infrastructure will really mean.
Kevin Gowen, Caringbah