Will the profits of a privatised NSW Land and Property Information Office end up in a tax haven?
NSW LPI
So on the nose is the proposal to auction off the NSW Land and Property Information Office via a 30-year lease that the Law Society, the Real Estate Institute and the Institute of Surveyors oppose it.
Surprisingly, the places with the most competition have seen some of the biggest price rises.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
Electricity retailers need to make their prices and offers more transparent and easier for customers to understand, or risk having to submit to price regulation to drive down bills.
Australia’s electricity grid is no longer fit for purpose.
Tatters ❀/Flickr
Privatisation has failed to keep Australia’s electricity cheap and reliable. Time to renationalise the grid.
South Africa’s Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has a tough job of rekindling a weak economy.
REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
With stalled economic growth and threats of credit rating downgrade, South Africa’s 2017/18 budget will need to dig deep to foster recovery.
There is very little chance that you’ll get one of those in Sweden today.
Hermann/pixabay
The Swedish housing model, once an ideal, has become a nightmare for most Swedes. Many are left struggling to find a roof.
nightfall404/Flickr
Don’t be alarmed: it’s no more dangerous than other sports, and in fact, it’s actually good for your health.
South Africa’s currency, the rand, has been highly volatile recently.
Shutterstock
South Africa’s central bank should urgently insulate the rand from further financial chaos by imposing tighter exchange controls.
In Africa, those consuming water from stand posts often pay the highest price.
Shutterstock
Africa is facing an annual financing gap for water infrastructure of around $45bn to meet the needs of its citizens. Where is the money going to come from?
With 700,000 vulnerable Australians depending on public housing, any proposal to change its status is likely to set off alarm bells.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
The report’s stated goal is to make the social housing system work better. It does not present as a manifesto for an entirely marketised and deregulated framework driven by the profit motive.
Australia has a higher proportion of inmates in privately operated prisons than any other country.
AAP/Paul Miller
Recent developments in the US suggest it might be time for Australia to rethink its reliance on private prisons.
Treasurer Scott Morrison blocked the sale of the Ausgrid lease on national security grounds.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Scott Morrison has rejected Chinese bids for the 99-year lease of 50.4% of Ausgrid, the NSW electricity distribution system, for security reasons.
The health sector has been plagued by problems from privatisation similar to those in vocational education.
Dean Lewins/AAP
The presumption in government is that privatisation is always desirable, but many failures have led consumers to think differently.
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Worldwide real estate makes up 60% of the value of all global assets. But it’s being concentrated into the hands of a wealthy few.
There is a strong political and economic case for the government to cut its support for private insurance and to restore Medicare to its original role.
Lukas Coch/AAP
The Turnbull government must reconcile the political sensitivity of Medicare and the need for fiscal discipline.
wwwuppertal/Flickr
The Land Registry is a valuable asset – so why not keep it in state hands, for the public good?
The Labor Party is heading into the election with its Medicare banner hoisted high.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
The greater threats to our national public health system lie in the increasing role of consumer co-payments and the power of vested interests that stifle policy innovation in health.
No fat controller required.
UsmanMassod
Brexiters on the Left fear that a UK vote to Remain would permanently put the railways in private hands. Here’s our Fact Check verdict.
Australians do business with a title office only a couple of times in their lives – when they buy and sell their homes, for instances.
AAP/Paul Miller
Privatisation has its advantages. But Australia’s title offices may not necessarily be the right government businesses to be privatised.
andrewmalone/Flickr
Open public spaces are good for mind and body – we shouldn’t have to pay to use them.
When public housing like the properties in Sydney’s Millers Point is privatised, it profoundly changes the social mix of the inner city to something much more homogenous.
AAP/Newzulu/Peter Boyle
The NSW government agenda would deny the ‘right to the city’, that network of diverse communities, practices and places which give rise to the convivial and inclusive potential of cities.