(Transcript from World News Radio)
Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey says the government is considering the sale of up to $130 billion worth of public assets, expected to be announced in the May budget.
He last year flagged likely agreements with the states and territories on what to sell and how in a wide-ranging privatisation program.
And in a speech at the Lowy Institute earlier this year, he said it was time for the private sector to help boost productivity, jobs and economic development.
Amanda Cavill reports.
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The momentum for the government to introduce a massive public assets sale program has been growing since it was elected last year.
In November, Treasurer Joe Hockey offered billions of dollars in tax incentives to the states to sell off public assets and put the money into new job-creating infrastructure.
Infrastructure Australia identified up to $139 billion in government assets that are ripe for privatisation, including regional airports, freight rail, electricity generators, retailers and distributors.
At the time, Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls said the incentive was worth considering.
"A very generous offer in relation to how we deal with it and it is something that needs to be taken back, spoken to to premiers, first ministers and cabinets. This is just another ingredient in the make-up that goes to consideration of those issues. It's not a determining factor. No-one has to take it up but it is there on the table who want to recycle their capital and move it into more productive new economic infrastructure."
January also saw the competition monitor, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, urge governments to sell assets to boost national productivity.
The Commission's chairman, Rod Sims, says selling the assets would ensure productivity and bring about the greatest public benefit, including reduced electricity prices.
Mr Sims says the only good reason for government ownership is because it has particular social objectives in mind.
"The question of ownership, really is one of who's the best owner of the asset, who can run them most efficiently. Because if all you're after is maximum efficiency then there's no question that you'd have those assets owned by the private sector. If you're continuing to own them by government, then that's because you've got some social objective to achieve. If you have a social objective, it's worth specifying what that is, and I suspect there's probably more direct ways to achieve that social objective."
The federal government has already announced it will sell Medibank Private, the government-owned health insurer, and is expecting to reap around four billion dollars from the sale.
Treasurer Joe Hockey says selling off other assets makes eminently good sense.
"The private sector is loaded up with cash. In Australia, Australian superannuation funds, including the ones that the union representatives are trustees of, they are investing in infrastructure offshore because there's not enough to invest in in Australia. The Government has assets - state and federal governments, but primarily state governments - have assets that have guaranteed returns so what Governments have to do is recycle precious taxpayer capital from existing assets, which Australian mums and dads can buy either through their superannuation or on the stock exchange, so recycle that precious capital into new productive investments that at the end of the day are going to grow the economy."
Finance Minister Matthias Cormann says just what's up for grabs hasn't been decided yet.
Mr Cormann says there will be a better idea of what can be sold after the Commission of Audit hands in its recommendations.
"The Government right now doesn't have a policy to sell any other assets. However, we have asked the Commission of Audit to review the size and scope, and the opportunity for increased efficiencies across government. And in that context they've asked them to make recommendations to us on whether there are any further sensible opportunities for the privatisation of Government assets."
The Commonwealth has a stake in many saleable assets.
They include Australia Post, Defence Housing Australia, Australia Rail Track Corporation, Airservices Australia, the Australian Submarine Corporation and Snowy Hydro.
It also wholly owns the NBN Co, which has always been flagged for eventual sale but not for some years.
The government has already floated the prospect of selling off the massive education HECS debt, worth around 26 billion dollars, but such a move would be blocked by Labor and the Greens .
The Opposition's Transport spokesman, Anthony Albanese, says selling off assets such as Medibank Private and Australia Post could mean reduced government revenue.
"You need to look at a longer-term perspective of these assets, not just what the impact is over a 12-month period and I think once you do that, then quite often, it does make sense to have what are profit-making enterprises remain in public hands so that you get that return to the taxpayer that can then be used."
Greens Deputy Leader Adam Bandt says selling off Australia's assets would be very shortsighted.
"I think people in Australia should be very, very worried and scared about what might happen in this coming budget. The Abbott government is planning to sell off the farm. Once you sell off these assets, you don't get them back. It is very short-sighted to think that the only way to get the budget back in the black is to sell off assets that the country owns."
Mr Hockey has declared all options are on the table in the government's task of repairing the federal deficit.
The Treasurer says if cuts aren't made, Australia will risk a decade of deficits and a debt blow-out to $667 billion.
The Commission of Audit's report is due to be handed to the government in coming weeks.
