Management the Sydney Labor way

Wednesday, 06 Dec 2006
Macquarie Bank should not have a place on Sydney Water Board

The appointment to the Board of Sydney Water of Tom Parry, Principal Adviser at Macquarie Bank, is a clear conflict of interest at a time when the government has opened up Sydney's water supply to privatisation, according to Greens MP, Sylvia Hale.

"The Greens are concerned that Macquarie Bank, with former Labor Premier Bob Carr on staff, may be getting an inside running as the government moves to open up the supply of water to private corporations."

"Consider this sequence of events:

- On 16 October 2006 Macquarie announces that it has led the consortium that has bought Thames Water, one of the largest private water supply companies in the world.

- On 18 October 2006 the government quietly appoints Tom Parry, Principal Adviser at Macquarie Bank, to the board of Sydney Water.

- On 24 October 2006 the government introduces the Water Industry Competition Bill which allows the supply of water in Sydney to be opened up to private sector competition."

"The public has a right to be deeply suspicious about what is taking place here," said Ms Hale.

"The potential conflict of interest arising from Mr Parry's appointment to the board of Sydney Water is obvious and the government should remove him from the board immediately," declared Ms Hale.

"Look at Macquarie's record at Sydney Airport where a public asset was turned into a price gouging private monopoly when Macquarie bought it. We do not want to allow Macquarie to do the same to the provision of water," said Ms Hale.

"The government, with the support of the opposition, pushed the Water Industry Competition Act through the last session of parliament and opened the door to the privatisation of Sydney's water supply. The Greens opposed the Act because we do not think it is in the interest of consumers or the environment to let large private corporations take over the water supply."