Almost 20,000 public housing units to be transferred to not-for-profits – Sydney Morning Herald
Out of public hands…and out on the street.
Out of public hands…and out on the street.
Dumb, dangerous, reckless, shortsighted…
The PSA is leading the fight against the privatisation of the Berry Sport and Recreation Centre on the South Coast.
The furore over the sell off of the land titles registry of the Land and Property Information Service is growing.
Read the full The Guardian article HERE.
In today’s Daily Telegraph, the PSA highlights cuts to solicitors and the outsourcing of their work in Fair Trading.
People’s Inquiry into Privatisation update – September 2016 (PDF version)
As part of our campaign to Stop the Secret Sell-Off of NSW’s public services and assets, the PSA is taking a leading role in the People’s Inquiry into Privatisation.
See our previous bulletin HERE.
The PSA is grateful to the many members, delegates and officials who gave evidence to the Inquiry at recent hearings in Wollongong, Newcastle and Sydney. Your stories of the impact of the Baird’s government’s privatisation agenda were powerfully told and the Inquiry benefited greatly from your participation.
The PSA is contributing to a planned Australia-wide CPSU submission to the Inquiry, and you can read our NSW chapter HERE.
We will provide you with further updates when the Inquiry’s report is released, which should be by the end of the year.
Sport and Recreation Stop the Secret Sell Off Protest – September 2016 (PDF version)
On Wednesday 21 September, Sport & Recreation members were out in force joining together with PSA members from LPI, TAFE, Trustee and Guardian, disability services, child protection, Government Records as well as other unions, community groups and politicians to protest Baird’s mass privatisation of NSW. The protest received some excellent news coverage on Channel 7 Sydney and Channel 7 Prime. You can see photos HERE and the 7 Prime story HERE.
In addition to speakers from Sport and Recreation, ADHC and LPI, the protest included a mock auction of TAFE, Sport and Recreation Centres, LPI, ADHC, and gaols by our Auctioneer “Moneybags Mike”. You can view media of the protest HERE.
The protest highlighted to the community Mike Baird’s relentless privatisation agenda. Constant pressure from the PSA and other unions, including our current Stop the Secret Sell Off media campaign, is also delivering results. The shine is finally coming off Mike Baird, and the public is beginning to form a realistic view of the Government’s ill-planned and risky attack on public services.
With the Government looking vulnerable, now is the perfect time to expose Baird’s Secret Selloff and use the leverage to fight for Sport & Recreation Centres to stay in public hands.
The following is an excerpt from the Sport & Recreation speech delivered at the rally by a dedicated and committed member:
Most people here today would have indelible memories of a Sport and Rec camp experience, whether it be a school camp, holiday camp, sports camp, respite camp, or cultural camp
Camps are run by highly qualified staff, trained to national industry standards. The majority of the instructional staff are teacher-trained and industry leaders.
Will private companies, chasing a buck, employ teachers or employ backpackers to look after campers? I think we all know the answer.
Will they care about the affordability of camps for kids with special needs? Will they subsidise camps for athletes with disabilities? Will they lower costs for school kids from the bush or out west? We all know the answers to those questions.
NSW should continue to FUND these unique programs rather than bemoan how much they cost – or worse still, make money from outsourcing them.
Sport and Rec camps support parents and teachers in unique OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS. Our kids actively learn in native Australian bush and aquatic environments.
It beggars belief that the Government is considering outsourcing these assets that are providing such VALUE to the people of NSW. Attendance is up and costs are down; 200,000 people a year use Sport and Recreation Centres.
As a community, we need more GREEN TIME NOT SCREEN TIME. We want to retain the public service before it all becomes SELF service.
We don’t want our families and children to view the world through screens. NSW Sport and Recreation camps help them EXPERIENCE the world. Walk it, swim it, paddle it, climb it, breathe it!
Don’t leave us gasping for Ayre, Minister Ayres.
The PSA met with the NSW teachers Federation (NSWTF) to discuss the proposed privatisation of the Sport & Recreation Centres. The NSWTF pledged their support to the PSA in aggressively campaigning against the NSW Government privatisation agenda to protect this iconic asset.
Click HERE to download a copy of the letter stating of the NSWTF intent to vigorously campaign against any moves by the NSW Government to privatise this important public service.
Click HERE to complete and submit a letter to Minister Ayres.
PSA members are also encouraged to be proactive and collect as many original signatures as they can on the petition below in the fight against the privatisation of Sport and Recreation Centres.
We must have original signatures on the petition, no photocopies, faxes or email. Post the petition to the Industrial Directorate at: Public Service Association of NSW GPO Box 3365 Sydney NSW by Monday 7 November.
The petition asks for the Legislative Assembly to legislate to prevent any privatisation, outsourcing, or leasing of Sport and Recreation Centres immediately.
Click HERE to download the petition
Click HERE to hear our radio advertisement as part of the Secret Sell Off campaign.
Click HERE to view our billboard on the approach to the Harbour Bridge.
In addition to the specific Sport & Recreation petition, the PSA is asking members to support our online petition calling on the NSW Government to:
You can sign this petition HERE.
For more information visit:
Wednesday 21 September, 2016
The Public Service Association (PSA) is hosting a mock “auction” of public services outside Parliament on Wednesday 21 September to highlight the Baird Government’s secret privatisation agenda.
The rally – which will include an auctioneer and speakers from Land and Property lnformation, Sport and Recreation and Disability Services – will run between 12:30pm and 1:30pm.
The PSA will be demanding Parliament debate its 25,000 signature petition against the sell off of disability services that has been ignored by Government in order to keep its sale plans under wraps.
The Baird Government is selling off areas including Land and Property Information, Trustee and Guardian services, TAFEs, Sport and Recreation Centres, transport, prisons, public housing, disability care, and child protection services to unaccountable private interests.
The union has launched a campaign titled “The Secret Sell Off” that involves radio and billboard advertising to alert the community to what is being lost, the billions of dollars in public funds being handed over to private for profit companies and the secrecy of the transactions.
“This Government has earmarked virtually the entire NSW public sector for privatisation but the transactions are being conducted in secret without a business case outlining the benefits to the community,” said PSA Assistant General Secretary, Steve Turner.
“Sound and proper scrutiny of process is critical but with the funding of the ICAC slashed, the Government has written its own get out of gaol free card.”
“TAFE is being decimated as the Government continues to blindly hand over countless millions to cheap private operators, some of whom are being investigated for fraud.”
“Similarly, the Department of Ageing Disability and Home Care (ADHC) which is being totally privatised leaving no Government safety net for those with high-end needs.”
Of particular concern to the PSA is the lack of accountability of the funds given to and the level of services provided by these private companies.
The NSW Auditor-General’s report on Family and Community Services (FACS) states that $2.5 billion is paid to the non-government sector (NGOs) to deliver services usually handled by the Department with no direct accountability to Government for the management of this funding.
Unlike other states, the NSW Auditor General does not have legislative powers to “follow the money”, something the PSA is pushing to change.
“A central element of our Stop the Secret Sell Off campaign is a petition which calls for the protection our public services from privatisation along with the introduction of laws for financial scrutiny and accountability of all privatised services,” said Steve Turner.
“I invite the community to support our fight and sign our petition”.
For more information visit: https://stopthesecretselloff.com.au/
25 Thousand signatures buried by the Baird Government – September 2016 (PDF version)
For some time now, the PSA has been working with the Member for Balmain, Jamie Parker on a means to bring our 25,000 signature petition against the privatisation of ADHC up for discussion in the NSW Parliament.
The petition was handed to the Late John Kaye by PSA General Secretary Anne Gardiner and tabled by Jamie Parker in November 2014. Despite its record breaking 25,000 signatures, the Baird Government used parliamentary process to bury this strongly supported petition.
While having the matter discussed in Parliament is unlikely to bring about the change we are seeking, highlighting to the community the lengths the Baird Government will go to to hide the enormity of its privatisation agenda is an important step toward that outcome.
That is why the PSA is urging members in the Sydney area to come to Parliament House, Macquarie Street on 21 September for our 12.30pm to 1:30pm protest against the secret sell off of NSW services.
At this protest we will be calling on the NSW Government to unearth the petition and bring it to light in Parliament. By coming along you will help achieve this goal.
There is no doubt that the PSA’s ongoing campaigning in the media, in the court, in workplaces and in the community has helped to take the shine off Mike Baird.
The PSA was ready and waiting to take advantage of such a change. That is why when it finally occurred we were able to immediately escalate into the next phase of our Defending Public Services campaign to highlight the extent of the privatisations and join together members of the PSA who are facing privatisation.
The PSA’s recently launched “Stop the Secret Sell Off” radio ads, billboards, website and petition are all designed to alert the people of NSW to the enormity of the Baird Government’s privatisation agenda.
You can make a difference by visiting the website and asking your friends and family to do the same. When you are on the website you can hear the radio ad, learn about the other privatisations and sign and share the petition. The website address is:
Fighting a conservative government hell-bent on dismantling public services was always going to be tough, but it is meaningful work which has already made a difference. The PSA’s RealChoice campaign to defend disability services was kicked off in 2013 and has:
To learn more about the campaign behind these outcomes including our doorknocking campaign and billboard in the lead up to the 2015 State Election, please click HERE.
You can also see much of the PSA’s media on this issue by visiting the PSA website and entering “disability” in the search facility.
In the meantime, make sure you’ve made plans to attend the protest with us
Download a copy of the rally poster for your noticeboard HERE.
Members should rearrange their shifts, take leave or flex-time to attend the protest.
Further proof of The Baird Government’s secret sell off with the privatisation of five additional hospitals.
Read the full Sydney Morning Herald article HERE.
Stop the Secret Sell Off of NSW Public Services – Protest 21 September (PDF version)
The NSW Government is undertaking a mass privatisation by stealth, with details on how they will affect the people of NSW shrouded in secrecy.
Members across Family and Community Services know how hard it is fighting cruel and sneaky privatisations such as the complete dismantling of ADHC and the failed privatisation of Out of Home Care.
Now it is time to step up and band together with PSA members from across the union and make a stand.
We must Stop the Secret Sell Off! View the Stop the Secret Sell Off site HERE.
Download the rally flyer HERE
The PSA is encouraging all members to attend a protest on Wednesday 21 September to call on the NSW Government to Stop the Secret Sell Off!
The PSA will have guest speakers from ADHC, LPI, Sport and Recreation, TAFE, Housing and more addressing the crowd and calling on the NSW Government to Stop the Secret Sell Off!
Your union, the PSA, will also be demanding the Baird Government debate the more than twenty five thousand signature petition they have ignored in their rush to secretly sell off NSW public services.
The PSA has also set up an online petition calling on the NSW Government to:
You can sign this petition HERE.
For more information visit: