The era of privatisation is nearly over. But cleaning up the mess left behind will take years
John Quiggin
From the 1980s until recently, politicians saw privatisation as a way to get a big bucket of money to spend on popular projects
December 2023
Australian authorities once embraced privately operated prisons. But some governments are taking back control
With Queensland, WA and NSW pulling back on the ‘marketised approach’, they could be leading a national charge
November 2023
NSW could see end of ‘prisons for profit’ as troubled facility returns to public hands in 2025
Minns government to not renew US firm’s 30-year reign over Junee Correctional Centre, and may follow suit with Parklea in 2026
August 2023
NSW bus system riddled with reliability issues and driver shortages, taskforce finds
Government releases first industry report detailing how the network has deteriorated compared with other transport infrastructure, especially with privatisation
May 2023
Clover Moore warns NSW government against sale of state-owned land
Exclusive: Sydney’s lord mayor calls plan to sell unused parcels to develop housing ‘disappointing’
March 2023
NSW government spends $400,000 on consultants before outsourcing Sydney Water asset
First Dog on the Moon
Our NDIS is helping almost 600,000 people with disabilities. But there is a sinister plan afoot!
First Dog on the Moon
February 2023
Rivals hammer out their pitches in fiery first debate of NSW election campaign
Mutiny on the Sydney commute: ‘pirate bus’ hits the road after privatisation leads to axed routes
November 2022
Privatisation has failed. Australia needs to ditch the ‘incentives’ rhetoric and simply spend money on things we need
Richard Denniss
State governments are starting to realise that old-fashioned direct public investment in essential services solves a lot of problems at once
October 2020
It's not about the watches: is Australia Post a commercial operation or a public service?
John Quiggin
Amid the outrage over luxury watches, the broader point of what Australians want from the post office and how can it best be delivered is being ignored
December 2019
NSW poised to privatise state forests to raise $1bn for infrastructure projects
Exclusive: Long-term lease of softwood plantations expected to be one of first assets off block in 2020
July 2019
Grogonomics
The proposal to privatise Medicare is bizarre. We should treasure our public health system
Greg Jericho
Most Australians love Medicare. They also overwhelmingly hate private health insurance. And they should
February 2019
Labor threatens to abandon Coalition's $1bn deal to privatise visa processing
Opposition warns it would ‘be dodgy’ to fast-track process and sign contracts before the election
September 2018
Power retailers spend big on advertising and consumers pick up the tab
Richard Denniss
Electricity companies pay millions for ‘customer retention’. The cost of this marketing nonsense is passed on to you and me
May 2018
The private sector and childcare
Letters: June O’Sullivan of London Early Years Foundation on what the UK can learn from Australia’s failures and successes
December 2017
Water costs in Australia to double within 20 years, report claims
Infrastructure Australia says governments should privatise state-owned metropolitan water utility businesses
October 2017
Privatisation has failed. We need a moratorium on all new proposals
David Hetherington
We travelled the country asking people how privatisation had affected their lives. Their stories paint a grim picture
June 2017
NSW budget: treasurer takes pot shots at South Australia and Queensland
Asset recycling may look new and exciting. But it's the last gasp of a failed model
