State Government privatises lands title services in $1.6 billion windfall
UPDATED: The state’s lands titles services has been privatised, reaping $1.6 billion — but there are fears over transparency and that data could be sold.
- Selling Lands Title Office could risk privacy, cost more
- OPINION: Privatising lands title services a ‘disaster’
TREASURER Tom Koutsantonis has announced the privatisation of the state’s land titles services, reaping $1.6 billion for government coffers.
Mr Koutsantonis said the successful bidder, Land Services SA, would take over the processing of land transaction services for the next four decades.
The State Government will continue to set fees and charges for land services.
The privatisation was flagged in last year’s Budget and expressions of interest closed in January.
The eventual sale figure is well in excess of industry estimates that the move would reap about $400 million.
Making the announcement in Parliament on Thursday, Mr Koutsantonis said Land Services SA — a consortium of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board — would maintain over-the-counter services at the Adelaide Lands Titles Office and customers would “not notice any difference to the service”.
There had been concerns that public servants would lose their jobs under such a privatisation.
The public sector union feared up to 200 staff would be out of a job.
Mr Koutsantonis told Parliament on Thursday that 70 staff would continue under the new operators, 60 workers would help with the transition and 30 would move to other roles in Government.
He pledged there would be no forced redundancies.
Public Service Association secretary Nev Kitchin said the union had lodged a complaint in the Industrial Relations Commission based on a lack of consultation by Government about the sale.
Mr Kitchin also raised concerns about future hikes in fees or charges as a result of the privatisation.
“Given the sale price it clearly indicates that there is a substantial revenue stream to be made in the future. Where is that going to come from? Either by selling (the data held by the office) or charging for access to it,” he said.
Nick Xenophon Team MP John Darley, a former Valuer-General, said the deal “gives the winning contractor the ability to access and sell information which is currently held by the Lands Services Group which may include spatial, valuation and ownership information of all properties in South Australia”.
Mr Darley said the Government had not provided “adequate detail” about the deal.
“We don’t know the ramification of this commercialisation because the government have been so secretive and underhanded about the entire project,” he said.
Land Services SA chairwoman Dr Annabelle Bennett said the consortium aimed to “enhance customers’ experience, improve registration processing times and invest in electronically-delivered services”.
In comparison, the NSW Government sold a 35-year lease for its land and titles registry for $2.6 billion.
Mr Koutsantonis said the SA Government would, in addition to a $1.6 billion upfront payment, receive an ongoing royalty stream from the sale, worth 12.5 per cent of any money made by commercialising data held by the Lands Titles Office.
He pledged that money would be invested in “critical infrastructure and essential services”.
Land Services SA has committed to invest $35 million in establishing an “innovation hub” in Adelaide and to foster local digital start-up ventures.