Operators aboard the Australian Defense Vessel Ocean Shield move the U.S. Navy's Bluefin 21 autonomous underwater vehicle
Operators aboard the Australian Defense Vessel Ocean Shield move the U.S. Navy's Bluefin 21 autonomous underwater vehicle into position for deployment in the Southern Indian Ocean, as the search continues for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Reuters/Stringer

Industry lobby group Civil Contractors Federation said on Monday that SA Water should be sold for $13 billion to help stablise a struggling Australian economy.

The Federation’s state branch chief executive, Phil Sutherland, said that the water division needs to be privatised so that more job opportunities are created at a moment when the unemployment rate is winging with higher pace in South Australia and affecting the entire nation.

“It is a drastic step, but these are drastic times the state finds itself in,” Sutherland said via the ABC. “Candidly, we don’t believe the Government has much choice, if we are to drag South Australia out of the economic malaise it finds itself in,” he added.

The SA branch of the lobby group also stated that the injection of the said amount will also help in raising the rates of employment throughout the region and finance infrastructure and transport projects. “SA is teetering on the edge of a major economic depression, which demands strong stewardship to lead us through this quagmire,” Sutherland told AAP.

The chief executive said that selling the electricity trust of the state would allow the federation to gain enough experience, which would help it apply the best price to prevent water rates from increasing.

After the destruction of the State Bank in the 1990s, the Electricity Trust of South Australia was privatised, leaving the government to suffer. However, Sutherland assured that this time, no spiralling will occur for water prices for the sake of consumers. Sutherland also suggested a new regulation framework to keep consumers protected.

Contrary to what the industry lobby group has suggested, however, Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis claimed that SA Water would remain under the SA government and would not be sold to a monopoly. “Unlike the Liberal Party, we will not sell off our essential utilities to an interstate or overseas monopoly,” Koutsantonis said. “In the driest state, in the driest continent, SA Water will remain SA-owned.”

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