Party dissent unlikely to halt energy sell-off in Australian state: official

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

SYDNEY (AFP) — Australia's most populous state is set to privatise its electricity industry despite overwhelming opposition from the ruling party's rank-and-file membership, Treasurer Michael Costa said.

At the centre-left Labor Party's New South Wales state conference in Sydney on Saturday, 702 delegates voted against the sell-off compared to 107 votes for the privatisation.

The vote came after more than two hours of rowdy debate on the conference floor, during which state leader Premier Morris Iemma was booed, jeered and laughed at, while delegates tried to drown out Costa, forcing him to yell.

Iemma left the conference before the vote was taken, but his treasurer defended the decision and indicated it will push ahead with the proposed sale of electricity...