The privatised state and questions for trade unions

We’re here to make money. We’re here to do business’: The privatised state and questions for trade unions Ruth Barton, Monash University, and Peter Fairbrother, Cardiff University Under both Labor and Liberal governments Australia has been one of the world’s leading proponents of privatisation. One of the key arguments about privatisation is that it would end the ineffi cient state monopoly of public services and reduce the power of public sector trade unions. Within a relatively short period of time there has been a reconsolidation of ownership in the energy and transport sectors which raises new challenges for the trade unions. After a period of consolidation following privatisation, the main trade unions in the Victorian rail and electricity sectors have adapted to the new circumstances to renew and rebuild their structures and strengthen their capacity to challenge the new private oligopolies.