A parliamentary vote to pass legislation allowing the lease of Port Kembla was not the end of the battle, South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris said yesterday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The NSW upper house last night was expected to pass the Ports Assets (Authorised Transactions) Bill, which will allow the O'Farrell government to lease both Port Kembla and Port Botany for 99 years.
Premier Barry O'Farrell has said the lease deal will bring in billions of dollars to be spent on a range of infrastructure projects across the state, including the $510 million Foxground and Berry Princes Highway bypass.
Treasurer Mike Baird has also said $100 million from the leasing of Port Kembla would be spent on a new infrastructure project in the Illawarra.
Mr Rorris, who was at State Parliament yesterday to witness the debate with MUA southern NSW branch secretary Garry Keane, said the fight to save the port was not over.
"It hasn't been sold and the financial transaction has not occurred as yet," Mr Rorris said. "We will keep fighting this as we believe it is in the interests of the people of the Illawarra to do so.
"Just because they pass a bill in Parliament doesn't mean that they can pull the wool over our eyes. We will not rest and we won't let them get away with trying to tell us that this decision is in the best interests of the people when we know it's all about rewarding their mates in the big business sector."
Wollongong MP Noreen Hay was angry that the legislation was rushed through the same week a 10,000-signature petition against the lease was due to be tabled.
"I had been given assurances that this legislation was not due for debate until next year - yet here we are, second last day of Parliament and the government has decided to sneak it through following a deal with cross-bench MPs," Mrs Hay said.
The bill was due to pass because of a deal with MPs from the Shooters and Fishers Party, who had agreed to vote with the government in exchange for a range of measures including allowing duck hunting in national parks.
Opposition Leader John Robertson said the deal represented a broken promise by the Premier.
"Barry O'Farrell promised he wouldn't do deals with the minor parties, but today we have seen yet another dodgy deal," Mr Robertson said.
Greens MP John Kaye said the government was allowing itself to be held hostage by a party that received less than 3.7 per cent of the vote.
"The Shooters and their allies, the Christian Democrats, had no interest in the Illawarra or the Botany community," he said.
"This is all about their ability to control the state, despite receiving less than 265,000 votes between them."
Mr Rorris said the deal was an example of "the ugly side of politics".
"It seems that the government is more keen to satisfy arguments about shooting in national parks than about the strategic infrastructure in NSW," he said.
"That's what I find totally astounding. More time, it seems, has been spent trying to work out a deal about shooting ducks in national parks than about securing the economic future of people in this state."
