Labor’s single most popular policy was a vague commitment to reinvent the SEC, the old publicly-owned power commission. Why was it such a political winner?
in his thumping election victory in November. He framed the SEC plan as a bold but necessary move to keep the state’s lights on, given that national energy policy had failed to deliver an orderly transition to renewables.But it was also a politically shrewd decision to break with decades of pro-market bipartisanship and to tap voter nostalgia about the SEC, deepening disquiet about privatisation and public longing for government-delivered services.
“The companies have paid the profits and dividends to their shareholders and are now coming back to the government with their hands out.”But when Kennett arrived in 1992, the commission was beset with problems - some of its own making, some of successive governments’ - including a costly, secretive deal to underwrite the operations of Alcoa’s aluminium plant in Portland with cheap power. It also made questionable investments in new power plants, poor productivity and big debt.
Kennett acknowledges Victorians support the idea of government providing electricity, and voters’ attraction to the SEC, describing Labor’s policy as a “very smart political trick”: “Do people think government should provide essential services? The answer is probably yes.” “You can argue these things in different ways, but … it is difficult to mount an argument to say, ‘hey, privatisation worked fantastically’ - and I haven’t really seen anyone do it in defence.”
“The companies have paid the profits and dividends to their shareholders and are now coming back to the government with their hands out saying ‘we want you to fund the transition policies’. There is broad agreement that the objective of market competition leading to consumer “empowerment” and real choice has not been met.
Since the 1990s, though, the political parties’ support for private ownership has largely been bipartisan. The Bracks and Brumby governments were renowned for using controversial Public-Private Partnerships to finance, build and run infrastructure, such as the costly desalination plant at Wonthaggi.in 2009 – when Andrews was health minister – show the Brumby government regarded energy privatisation as successful, giving Victoria “one of the most competitive electricity markets in the world”.
“All the states have their plan B because they just do not have trust in the national process anymore,” says Reeve. “You don’t want to be the minister when the lights go out.”in December, Andrews acknowledged the SEC Mark II policy was about “keeping the lights on”. He says the idea finally crystallised in September, when AGL announced it was bringing forward closure of its Loy Yang A plant, which generates about one third of the state’s power, to 2035.
Reeve says that for older Victorians who remember it, the SEC evokes cheap electricity, secure work, personal service and confidence that someone is looking after life’s essentials.
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