January 17, 2019 PEXA fire sale another McGowan broken promise Treasurer Ben Wyatt’s decision to accept a fire sale price for the State’s share in Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) short changes taxpayers the state and is yet another broken promise from the McGowan Government. Shadow Minister for Planning Liza Harvey said Labor had gone to the last election pledging not to sell or privatise any Government assets but had in two years sold or pledged to privatise more than the former Government had in eight years. “Synergy electricity assets have already been sold, now PEXA has been sold and the privatisation of Landgate is under way,” Ms Harvey said. “It is very concerning that this deal to sell PEXA was kept secret from the people of Western Australia and will not be subject to any form of Parliamentary scrutiny.” Ms Harvey said the $185 million dollar sale price was well below previous valuations. “Industry sources say there was a lot of upside to be had in the value if the Government had waited for a greater uptake of electronic conveyancing. “The decision to sell PEXA at a time for a fire-sale price is a measure of the McGowan Government’s desperation to fund its unaffordable Metronet projects,” Ms Harvey said. “As a result of this desperation, the Government has failed to maximise the value of this asset and the decision to sell may have cost Western Australians a substantial amount of money. “The McGowan Government also promised to put any windfall gains into a debt reduction account but instead this money will go to fund election commitments that benefit marginal Labor electorates.” Ms Harvey said Western Australians deserved to know what other assets the McGowan Government planned to sell or privatise in order to fund Metronet. “Families struggling to cover the extra $700 a year this Government’s in household fees and charges this Government has imposed on them deserve to know the real cost of Metronet,” Ms Harvey said. “It needs to be asked what other assets the Premier and Treasurer plan to sell or privatise to fund the Ellenbrook train line, the redevelopment of the Bayswater train station and the cost blowouts and time delays on the Forrestfield Airport Link.” Media Contact |
