Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Resources, Forestry and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

Like many members on both sides of this House, I rise to speak on this debate in the parliament with a very heavy heart. There was no proposal on either side of this House to actually sell Snowy Hydro Ltd. I say that because I actually think the Snowy is an Australian and international icon. It is not only a very broad statement of our success in building big projects, huge engineering feats, but also a domestic and international statement about the success of postwar migration to Australia and the success of multiculturalism. In that context, I say on behalf of the opposition that we appreciate the government accepting our amendment to the motion before us. The amendment was proposed in good faith to try to ensure that the three governments involved in the privatisation actually fulfil their responsibilities with respect to the future use of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme.

I say that because I think this scheme is exceptionally important—and how could anyone suggest otherwise? With 16 major dams, seven power stations, a pumping station and 225 kilometres of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts, the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme is by far the greatest engineering project every undertaken in Australia and one of the biggest and most complex hydroelectric schemes in the world. Only two per cent of the entire construction is visible above the ground. The entire scheme covers a mountainous area of approximately 5.124 square kilometres in southern New South Wales. The scheme’s construction was a defining point and a defining moment in Australian history. It was an important symbol of Australia’s identity as an independent, multicultural and resourceful country as we went through postwar reconstruction and actually made a strategic investment in our nation’s future. It is therefore worth reminding the House of the fascinating history of the scheme, because it is a remarkable statement about the Australian character and why it is important that privatisation comes with accountability to properly maintain, upgrade and grow the Snowy Hydro energy business.

As I said at the outset, the Snowy Hydro has a very special place in the hearts of all Australians. Construction started on the scheme on 17 October 1949, when the Governor-General, Sir William McKell, Prime Minister Ben Chifley and William Hudson fired the first blast at Adaminaby. At the launch of the project, Ben Chifley, the Australian Labor Party leader, presented it as a national milestone. In the mind of the government of the day, it was important for the drought relief it was thought it would bring to inland Australia, for the power it would supply and for the ambitious size of the project.

Construction was completed in 1974, for a total historical cost, funded by Commonwealth government advances, of $820 million. Because the project was so much bigger and more complex than anything that had ever been done before in Australia, the engineers needed to develop methods that were new to Australia and the world. Safer and cheaper construction techniques were used and the project set new standards in occupational health and safety for the time. It also represented a major advance in how we undertook projects in remote areas of Australia. The power stations adopted higher outputs of electricity transmission than ever before. The project used Australia’s first transistorised computer, which was also one of the first in the world. Called Snowcom, the computer was used from 1960 to 1967, contributing greatly to the efficient and successful completion of this major project. The construction effort itself is actually hard to comprehend today when you think about the difficulties we have getting up infrastructure investment in Australia in the 21st century.

What a huge undertaking it was, given the size of the workforce. More than 100,000 people from over 30 countries came to the mountains to work on the project. Up to 7,300 workers would provide their labour at any one time. Importantly, 70 per cent of all the workers were migrants. Many of these came from war-torn Europe. They came to Australia to work on the project, attracted by a new opportunity in life and by what were then considered to be the relatively high wages offered on the job. We should not forget that at that time work was hard to come by in war-torn Europe.

Most of the workers were men who had left their families at home in Europe. Their plan was to work hard, create a new opportunity in a new country, save their money and bring their families out when they could afford to. The work was hard and the conditions were tough. Because 98 per cent of the project was underground, there was a lot of tunnelling, often through solid granite rock. Work in the tunnels was dirty, wet, noisy, smelly and sometimes exceptionally dangerous. Lives were lost on this project and some workers were maimed for life. More than 120 workers died in the project’s 25-year period. That just shows what a huge project it was and, despite the advances in health and safety on the project, how dangerous the job was.

Living conditions were also exceptionally tough. People lived in camps, and towns were built in the mountains to house the workers and their families. Often these dwellings were not suited to the freezing conditions of the Snowy. They were cold and the water would freeze in the pipes. When the workers’ wives and families came to join them in the townships, the women found it hard to find work, hard to overcome the hardships and the loneliness of being away from their home country and hard to establish communities in the strange, new wilderness of this outback environment of Australia. When work was completed in one area, the dwellings were dismantled and moved to another area—so very little remains of these towns today.

Exceptionally important for Australia was that the majority of these workers and their families remained in Australia after the project. They then went on to make many valuable contributions to Australia’s multicultural society and to the Australian construction industry, especially public works in places such as Sydney and Melbourne and in regional Australia.

The project was built in Australia’s national interest, with the support of the New South Wales, Victorian, South Australian and Commonwealth governments. The scheme today provides electricity to the national electricity market and much needed drought security to Australia’s dry inland.

In terms of its history, on 7 July 1949, the Commonwealth passed the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1949. This established the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority, the operating body of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. In 1997—the world moves on—a new company, Snowy Hydro Trading Pty Ltd, was established by the New South Wales government and the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, as a joint venture to trade electricity generated by the Snowy Mountains Scheme in the new national electricity market. The Commonwealth then formally joined the Snowy Mountains trading company as a shareholder in February 2000—hence the debate today. The two companies were merged and corporatised to become Snowy Hydro Ltd in 2002.

The opposition supports the motion proposed, with the amendment now accepted by the government, but it has done so with some regret. Also, we thought there was inadequate time given for our caucus to consider this complex bill. We were advised of the proposition on Monday evening, we debated it at short notice in our caucus on Tuesday and, on the basis of the government’s timetable, the debate in the House is to be completed today. However, at least the outcome reflects the concerns of the caucus, as expressed in the terms of the amendment accepted by the government.

Having said that, I acknowledge that it is the desire of all the shareholders to privatise the company, albeit at the request and pressure of the New South Wales government. Their collective view that it will be in the interests of all Australian taxpayers and consistent with energy market reform is supported by both sides of the House. But it is important, as proposed in the amendment moved by the member for Melbourne, seconded by me and now accepted by the government, that the people of Australia have very clear assurances that the claims made by the governments—the joint governments: New South Wales, Victorian and Commonwealth governments—about privatisation are met. It is a collective responsibility.

The New South Wales government forced this privatisation, which was initially opposed by the Victorian and the Australian governments. I say, as did the member for Eden-Monaro, that a heavier responsibility rests on the shoulders of the New South Wales government than on any of the other governments involved in this decision, to guarantee that the undertakings and commitments sought in the amendment moved by the opposition are fulfilled. That is exceptionally important, because it is about this parliament acting in good faith. It is about this parliament saying to the Australian community that, when we make decisions, we are going to fulfil the full requirements and undertakings related to that decision.

The opposition want to be sure, in particular, that there is a guaranteed commitment to local employment for the scheme and, further, that privatisation does lead to the continuing maintenance and upgrading of the scheme and the growth of its business. That is the basis of the argument by the New South Wales government. They want us to believe that it is not a fire sale but an opportunity to grow the business. We are going to test their statements, which led to the decision to privatise the Snowy Mountain hydro-electricity scheme. If they say it is not a fire sale then they had better fulfil their commitments, which are now accepted by the Australian and Victorian governments.

We also want to make sure that the advances made in recent years in restoring the environmental flows of the Snowy continue to proceed. This was largely initiated by the Victorian Premier, in association with the New South Wales Premier, and eventually with the support of the Australian government. They have a collective responsibility to the environment of the Snowy by delivering on their legally binding commitments to water flows.

In conclusion, I want to say in response to the remarks made by the member for Eden-Monaro that the Victorian government was dragged to the altar with respect to this privatisation. They have stated to the Victorian community that the proceeds from the sale—which can be clearly identified; there will be a certain amount of money—will be spent on upgrading schools infrastructure in Victoria. That is a one-off opportunity, as a result of the decision made the Victorian Labor government, to renew some of the infrastructure of schools built in the 1950s. That is the case with a lot of our infrastructure around Australia. We have to renew that infrastructure as an investment in the education of our young for the future.

I acknowledge the decision of the Victorian government to actually do something constructive. The Snowy scheme represents the savings of many Australians. It was the biggest scheme undertaken to that date; in relative terms today a substantial scheme in the nature of Australia, be it at a state or a Commonwealth government level. The Victorian government have done the right thing and they are to be congratulated. In view of those matters, I simply say that I support the motion before the House, including the amendment moved by the opposition. This will hopefully guarantee the performance and outcome of the sale to be reported at the end of five years after the passage of the privatisation resolution. I commend the motion, as amended by the opposition, to the House.

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