Access to Port Bid Documents Remain Private and Confidential

Today, inquiries to receive a copy of the Expression of Interest (EOI) form for potential bidders for the lease of Port Kembla and Port Botany have not been forthcoming.

An advertisement seeking Expressions of Interest was posted in Tuesday's newspapers media. NSW Treasury has outsourced the EOI’s to Morgan Stanley, and information is being tightly regulated by the private firm.

Sources state that Treasury has made very clear that confidentiality is of the “utmost importance”. The documents will be difficult to get under freedom of information laws.

Save Our Ports members are continuing to seek the EOI’s. Something as basic as an EOI should not be so difficult to obtain under normal circumstances. 

All paperwork related to the privatisation is important, and preventing the release of information does not seem a legitimate way to handle the process.

The campaign encourages all members of the community to seek the right to access these documents.

Image (c) R. Worthington 2012.

Update: Cheap Port Price Reveals O'Farrell is Betting On Private Investors To Fix Transport Issues

The O’Farrell Government’s plans to privatize Port Kembla provide a window into a much bigger plan to outsource the fixing of transport infrastructure around NSW and the Illawarra.

The NSW Infrastructure Report released yesterday hints that the indirect benefits of the cheap price of the Port lease are geared towards the hope that private investment will fix the state’s transport problems.

The report makes clear that the NSW Government wants private money to finish the Maldon Dumbarton railway link, a project on the back burner for decades, but one that will increase the viability and growth of the Port.

All indications are that the O’Farrell Government is putting up Port Kembla at a cheap price so as to facilitate this.

The $100m the Illawarra will receive from the $500 million sale price will go to further facilitate the lessee's interests. There will be nothing for education, health or any other benefits.