Privatisation deals are never for the public good

The privatisation of many buses may be confronting but it is the other privatised deals that are having a far wider effect (“MPs push to roll back privatisation https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/abject-failure-parliament-committee-want-to-roll-back-sydney-bus-privatisation-20220920-p5bjky.html”, September 21). From investment corps, wharves, insurance companies, government cleaning, banks, schools, hospitals, energy and power utilities, TAB and lotteries, ports, water and electricity, the list is long and profits high. The state governments have relinquished control of major utilities for short-term profit and consequently people are suffering from higher bills and poorer service. The competition promised never eventuated and taxpayers have been well and truly duped. Janice Creenaune, Austinmer

The political stoush over Sydney’s privatised buses highlights what is wrong with oppositional or partisan politics in this country. Private bus lines need to be put back in public hands as private bus companies are only concerned with maximising their profits and are unconcerned about the public good. It is a no-brainer that a big city such as Sydney should get private cars off the road and encourage everyone to use public transport. We would all breathe easier and be more relaxed if this were the case. Furthermore, our cost of living would fall. I don’t often agree with Xi Jinping but his viewpoint on this issue – that Western politicians mislead public opinion and waste energy needlessly on ideological debate – is surely right. Geoff Black, Caves Beach

Before they privatised the buses, the government butchered the routes. This ideologically driven exercise means no direct bus from Randwick or Coogee gets you closer to the CBD than Museum station, nor anything from the north-east of the CBD gets you home. Whoever benefited, it wasn’t the public. Michael Berg, Randwick

The NSW transport minister claims “politics” is behind criticism of NSW transport privatisations. In fact, it’s his political party’s free market ideology and politics that are behind the privatisations of public assets in the first place. The profit motive will never deliver goods and services that all members of society can rely on. That’s why we don’t have privatised police, military, courts of justice, water, etc. Where we have privatised public assets such as schools, hospitals and toll roads, etc, they no longer serve the public but end up serving the wealthy. David McMaster, Mosman

Until the state government and the private operators realise the public dislikes playing musical bus chairs when travelling from A to B, they will continue to C declining patronage. It’s as simple as ABC. Bob Scott, Eastlake