Saturday, June 02, 2007

So much for secrecy

I know some countries can’t even boast the second rate public health services available in Australia. The Howard government, fond as it is of the ‘level playing field’ is now planning to sell of the government health insurer Medibank.

They are looking to add around $2 billion to the notional national pot. Not that they have any desire to compensate the population with this supposed windfall. On latest figures the money will probably be spent on publicly funded self-advertising.

If that is not worrying enough, there is a now not so secret plan to boost Medibank’s bottom line, and sale price, by adding in another key government health service; Health Services Australia (HAS).

HAS which generates revenues of about $100 million a year provides health and disability checks, rehabilitation and vaccination services.

Minister for Human Services, Chris Ellison, who is responsible for Health Services Australia, has stonewalled over questions about proposals for a transfer, citing commercial confidentiality.

Given the outrageous spending on government advertising at present, topping $25,000 an hour nationally, we are getting a very clear idea of how Howard’s team is choosing to spend the funds from selling off our assets. So much for a healthy society.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Advertising!? They're spending it on advertising? Even the Russians did a better job during the huge state sell off in the early 90s. They used the money to shore up the security at former nuclear research facilities.

Cartledge said...

I'm still looking for what has happen to a few other tens of billions. It is not all advertising or spent on the public.
Best guess is that it is being used in short term market manipulation, perhaps to the benefit of the economy, perhaps just to help friends.

Anonymous said...

Howard can feel that the dog's in his ass, biting. And hard. So he's selling everything off before he still has the chance. I once heard, that one of the symptoms of a falling "regime" is the looting...