Therefore I was disappointed when the state Nationals agreed to the partial privatisation of one of our state’s biggest revenue-producing assets and one of our region’s biggest employers – the electricity poles and wires; assets that were misappropriated by the previous state government from local government county councils in 1995 without compensation to the local communities.

Legislation to sell the electricity assets passed both houses of NSW Parliament in record time, just a few weeks ago, with the Christian Democrats claiming it would be good for families – I’m sure we’ll realise that’s not true. 

Despite Essential Energy being “quarantined” from the sale, we now learn that many local Essential Energy employees are to be made redundant, to trim the service down so the government can afford to keep it in public hands. 

This is in addition to the impending loss of many TransGrid jobs. 

At Tamworth, millions of taxpayers’ money has been shelled out to gold-plate the TransGrid facilities just in time for a sale, possibly to a state-owned enterprise of communist China.

I note the recent remarks of the member for Northern Tablelands, Adam Marshall, basking in the joy of the promised $100 million from the recent NSW budget for his electorate and commenting that it was just the beginning of investment in the regions by the government, since the recent endorsement of its plan to sell 50 per cent of the state’s poles and wires. 

Adam remarked: “There is no doubt that NSW is now the economic powerhouse of Australia and there are exciting times ahead for regional NSW, with the plan to allocate $6 billion in projects across the regions from Rebuilding NSW.”

As the proceeds of revenue-producing assets will be promptly frittered away, I am confident we’ll see the folly of this mistake sooner rather than later. 

We’ll also see just how much energy our state – the “economic powerhouse” – has left when it runs low on fuel from the loss of electricity revenue.

On June 23, the Financial Review reported that a NSW Treasury document advised that Mike Baird’s power sale will create a $1.5 billion hole in the government’s finances.

The Treasury memo said selling the networks would benefit the state budget if the money were banked and used to pay down debt.

But this benefit would be undone and the state budget would in fact be worse if NSW ploughed all the cash back into infrastructure.

It was also suggested that the NSW Coalition kept voters in the dark about the budget impact of its big-spending policy ahead of the March 28 election because of concerns it would undermine shaky public support. 

An upper house parliamentary inquiry headed by Fred Nile in May into the proposed 99-year sale of 51 per cent of the electricity networks was also not shown the Treasury advice.

Recently, Adam Marshall lamented the attitude of the National Farmers’ Federation towards the proposed decentralisation of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority from Canberra, and obviously the resultant jobs that would not be transferred to Armidale.

Yet he appears to have little concern for the many electricity jobs that will be lost because of policy he keenly supported. 

Surely he cannot have his cake and eat it. 

So, the worst features of this policy will be local job losses and into the near future, tax increases, electricity price hikes and service cuts.

You would wonder how quickly and effectively electricity service providers will be able to respond to power outages; complaints which should promptly be directed to the proponents of privatisation – our local state members.

I disagreed to the partial privatisation of the poles and wires because I believe rural NSW will suffer the most from this reckless policy and, like many rural constituents, I want rural NSW and Australia to be viable and flourish.

So I am reminded that you have to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.