Premier Mike Baird says “Mum and dad investors” could buy into poles and wires sale

MUM and dad investors may be able to take part in buying the state’s electricity assets, with Premier Mike Baird considering a public float of billions of dollars’ worth of the power networks.

Senator Fred Nile will likely be the key in the Upper House to the Coalition’s plans to lease 49 per cent of the state’s poles and wires assets.

MUM and dad investors may be able to take part in buying the state’s electricity assets, with Premier Mike Baird considering a public float of billions of dollars’ worth of the power networks.

Mr Baird made the comments in an interview with The Daily Telegraph the day after his historic election win as he also pledged to finish the M4 East, M5 duplication and North West Rail in time for the 2019 state election.

It appeared last night Mr Baird had won the nine seats required in the upper house to allow the passage of his sale of power assets with the support of the Christian Democrats.

Premier Mike Baird made his first public appearance in Manly yesterday after winning the NSW State Election. Picture: Bradley Hunter

The government’s upper house vote was so high — at 43 per cent — it was in line for a battle for a 10th spot against the Animal Justice Party and No Land Tax Party.

A 10th spot would give the government 21 seats in the legislative council, just one seat short of a majority in the 42-member chamber.

Mr Baird was returned on Saturday with a likely 53 seats in the 93-member legislative assembly to Labor’s likely 34. Despite the net loss of 14 seats, he said he was “excited” about the next term of government.

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“This city and state is going to be buzzing in the next four years,” Mr Baird said.

“You think there’s cranes in the sky now, you’ve seen nothing yet. By the time we get to 2019, we’re going to be in a very different city and a very different state.”

His vow for the M4 East — the stage 1 section of WestConnex providing a three-lane tunnel along the Parramatta Rd route from the M4 to Parramatta Rd and City West Link, Haberfield — keeps to its scheduled opening in 2019.

State of play... How the NSW Upper House looks likely to be allocated.

However, the duplication of the M5 from the existing corridor at Beverly Hills via tunnel to a new St Peters interchange by 2019 would bring the second stage of WestConnex forward a year.

The Premier said he would look to convene parliament as soon as possible — the first week of May after writs are declared — to move forward with his power sale legislation.

Mr Baird said he would get moving on the assets’ sale before parliament resumed and would be working on the sale of Transgrid this week.

“The aim remains to have the first transaction done within 12 months,” he said.

On Transgrid, of which the government is selling 100 per cent, Mr Baird said the government’s advice was the best result would be achieved through a trade sale.

But he said the 50.4 per cent sales of Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy could be a public float, similar to Telstra and the TAB.

“It’s certainly one of the options being considered and obviously I think that would be a great thing, a chance for mums and dads to participate as well,” he said.

A potential hurdle to the sale was Christian Democrats MP Fred Nile’s demands for job guarantees for electricity workers.

The major projects Mike Baird hopes to fund with the leasing of the state’s power assets.

The Australian Energy Regulator has demanded cuts to all power network businesses in a draft ruling which would lead to job losses no matter who ran the businesses.

Mr Nile indicated yesterday he was prepared to take this into account in any jobs guarantee negotiation and he was more concerned about wholesale sackings after a sell-off.

But Mr Nile said he would like to see a crackdown on union “featherbedding” and overly generous allowances to workers. Mr Nile has also said he wants a parliamentary inquiry into the sale, which he said he expects will support the government’s case.

Mr Baird said he was happy to sit down with the Christian Democrats soon because “the sooner we get things resolved the better because we want to get on with it, we want the state to get moving, we want the projects to start cranking and clearly a big part of that is ensuring we can get the transaction away”.

Mr Baird yesterday called on Labor to respect his mandate and support the sale through the upper house.

Senator Fred Nile will likely be the key in the Upper House to the Coalition’s plans to lease 49 per cent of the state’s poles and wires assets.

“My hope is over the next couple of weeks as Labor reflects on the loss, they can consider an opportunity to bring (their slogan of) a new approach to the state, a nd say ‘we respect the mandate, you get on with it and we’ll hold you to account on it’. That to me is where the battle should be,” he said.

He received unusual support yesterday from Labor luminaries who encouraged Labor leader Luke Foley to back the sale.

Former Carr government treasurer Michael Egan said: “The government clearly has a mandate and the Labor Party has always believed in the primacy of the people’s house, which is the lower house, and we can’t get to the stage that the US has where there’s always a (block).” Another former Labor treasurer, Michael Costa, said: “Mike Baird has a clear mandate to implement his plans (and) Labor ought to support it.”

Mr Foley appeared to slightly soften his position yesterday by saying the opposition’s position on the sale was a matter for the caucus but he would be “very surprised” if they moved from his promise to block it.

Mr Baird became the first Liberal premier to be re-elected with a clear majority since Sir Robert Askin in 1973.

“I think the result is quite remarkable in the context of what we faced,” Mr Baird said.