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Wran Lecture 2015 “Let Me Begin by Acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the Land

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Wran Lecture 2015 “Let Me Begin by Acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the Land Wran Lecture 2015 “Let me begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land. I pay my respects to their elders past and present. I want to acknowledge Jill Wran’s presence here this evening. I sought Jill’s counsel in the earliest days of my leadership and I am so grateful for the advice and encouragement she gives me. The very first person I visited after I was sworn in as a Labor member of Parliament in 2010 was Neville Wran in his office in Bligh Street. I will not repeat the details of our discussion, but I can report that Paul Keating was right when he said Neville had a ‘PhD in poetic profanity.’ In May last year—along with many of Labor’s faithful and many of this state’s citizens— I went to Sydney’s Town Hall to celebrate the life and work of Neville Kenneth Wran. It was a fitting tribute, in the right place. The Sydney Town Hall was, after all, the political stage upon which Wran gave some of his most memorable performances. It was moving then. It is an honour now to deliver this year’s Wran Lecture. In 1976, the election of the Wran government came at a crucial moment in Labor’s history when, in the wake of Whitlam’s dismissal, some questioned Labor’s legitimacy. But after the rancour and tumult of 1975 Wran soon showed that Labor could still deliver ‘stable, steady, progressive government’. Wran’s success was built on a belief in the power of government to improve the lives of the people of New South Wales. But he also understood that such power could not be exercised unless Labor was elected. Wran understood that Labor must have modern resonance and not be a dull echo of past glories. So Wran presented a contemporary alternative to the people of New South Wales. His government built vital parts of New South Wales’ infrastructure: electrifying the railways from Wollongong to Newcastle; approving extensions to the State Library and Art Gallery of New South Wales; transforming Darling Harbour. The Wran government preserved much of this state’s environment and heritage: by conserving rainforests in northern NSW; by introducing the Heritage Act; and by establishing the Land and Environment Court. Neville’s government defended civil liberties and protected human rights: by passing the Anti- Discrimination Act; decriminalising homosexuality and establishing a Department of Aboriginal Affairs. The Wran government modernised the political processes of this state: by democratising the Legislative Council; introducing a pecuniary interests register and public funding for election campaigns. He had an ambitious, restless vision but the member for Bass Hill never forgot the concerns of everyday people. He reached for the stars but always kept his feet firmly on the ground. Or as Wran frequently put it when considering a proposal that had come to his Cabinet; ‘What’s in this for Joe Blow and his missus?’ Neville Wran did all of these things with flair, with wit, with his formidable intellect and with the aid of his best advisor, Jill Wran. Wran did all of these things because he understood that Labor has always been a party of historic principle and contemporary reform. For Wran understood that a storied past does not guarantee Labor’s future. Labor’s project always involves a necessary balance between enduring principles and contemporary realities. Labor’s history is a wellspring, which helps sustains us, but equally each generation must renew Labor’s sense of purpose. Tonight I want to speak to Labor’s future purpose in New South Wales. Governments touch the lives of people each and every day. And state governments deliver the services we all rely on—schools and hospitals, roads and rail, police and emergency services. In the 1940s, in response to the want of the Great Depression and the desperation of the Second World War, state and federal Labor governments led by McKell, Curtin and Chifley created much of the architecture, and many of the instruments, of the welfare state. These Labor reformers sought to civilise capitalism, to lift people out of poverty, to ensure that merit mattered more than privilege. In the 1970s, it fell to Labor Governments led by Whitlam, Dunstan and Wran to reinvigorate Labor’s purpose. In New South Wales Neville Wran’s government looked to new ways of delivering services, embracing non- government organisations as partners in the delivery of community services. Like the Wran government then, New South Wales Labor today must think anew about the delivery of public services. When I talk of public services I mean the core services that the public requires and government provides, mandates or regulates, regardless of whether they be delivered by the public, private or not-for-profit sectors. For too long, we have been preoccupied with a tired debate about who is best placed to provide these services—a debate which focuses too intently on the quantity and origin of public services but not enough on their quality and capacity. The issue is not whether the public sector or private enterprise should own assets and provide services, the issue is what is in the best interests of the people of New South Wales. I do not believe that private enterprise always does things better than the public sector. Nor do I believe that private enterprise is incapable of producing public benefits. For me, what matters is what works. I believe that those of us who value public sector services should be the loudest and most articulate advocates of their modernisation. We must protect Labor’s cherished legacy—as the party that looks after people—and to do this we must ensure that public services remain responsive to people’s needs. As a social democratic party that cares about the sustainability of the public sector, we have an obligation to pursue value for money, to demonstrate to service users, taxpayers and staff, that they are delivering high quality, cost effective public services. Those of us who believe in the public sector have an obligation to prove that our confidence in public delivery is justified. To do so, we must create the conditions that enable excellence in the delivery of public services. We must become more effective at listening, and responding to the people who rely on them. I reject the proposition that, when it comes to the delivery of public services, the private sector is inherently better than the public sector. I believe that public services should be delivered by people who are motivated by a desire to serve the public –wherever they may be. And I do see a role for the private sector in the delivery of public services in this state. I am not ideologically opposed to the delivery of these services by external providers. But I do challenge the belief that privatisation at any time and on any terms represents economic reform. I believe it is right and proper for governments to ensure that privatisation does not occur at the public’s expense. A crude ideological approach to privatisation takes governments to some very strange places. Consider the proceedings currently underway in the Australian Competition Tribunal. The NSW Government is taking legal action to appeal the decision of the Australian Energy Regulator to lower the charges the state’s electricity companies can recover from consumers. Electricity is a cost to every business and a cut in power prices makes our entire economy more competitive. Labor wants to save small businesses up to $528 on their yearly power bills. Labor wants to see each and every household save up to $313 on their annual power bills. Premier Baird does not. He is taking legal action to keep electricity prices high – and is prepared to hurt every household in order to do so. It is an extraordinary situation. Mike Baird is so focused on privatisation as an end in itself that he is damaging the community and the economy. The legal appeal is for one reason only—to fatten the pig for market day. That is, to increase the sale price for the state’s electricity distribution businesses. He has forgotten households and small businesses. He has forgotten the users of this most essential of services—electricity. Premier Baird should withdraw his legal challenge and let the price cuts stand. Under my leadership Labor’s primary focus is the individuals, families and communities – particularly the vulnerable and the disadvantaged – that our public services should always serve. The public interest should guide a government’s agenda. What is good for the people of this state should be our guiding principle. The need for reform in the interests of the people of New South Wales is clear when it comes to the provision of public housing. At this year’s election, New South Wales Labor went from a rump to a real alternative. There are twenty new members of the State Parliamentary Labor Party. I was nourished by the inaugural speeches of Labor’s class of 2015. I was energised by their enthusiasm, excited by how their dedication and daring will be used for the public good. But I was also struck by how many of them spoke of their frustration at the state of public housing in their electorates. Prue Car—the new member for Londonderry—spoke of a young mother who found syringes in her backyard and when she contacted the department, seeking help, was told to just pick them up. Prue also spoke about the time tenants spent waiting for the most basic of repairs—waiting a decade or more to fix a hole in the floor.
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