BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE
HOBART — A range of allegations have been made concerning the privatisation of the Trust Bank by the state Labor government last year.
Months after the privatisation was heralded as a "win for Tasmania", it has been revealed that the publicised sale price of $149 million was reduced to $144 million. From this figure, a range of legal fees were deducted. As well, the state government invested $30 million in Trust Bank when it was established in the early 1990s.
When all these factors are taken into account, the net amount secured by the state government for the bank is only $104 million — significantly less than it was worth.
It has also been revealed that the bank's former managing director David Airey was paid $2.7 million when the bank was sold — after spending just seven months in the job. The bank was also running at a loss.
The April 9 Sunday Tasmanian highlighted a range of alternative uses to which that money could have been put, including funding the state's guide dog program for 25 years or giving a $110 bonus to each of Tasmania's 23,000 Newstart recipients.
In the wake of these revelations, Labor senator Shayne Murphy, a long-time critic of the Trust Bank's management practices, repeated allegations about commercial dealings between the bank and senior management that may have benefited the managers involved. These allegations are reportedly being investigated by regulatory bodies and the police.
Tasmanian Greens MP Peg Putt and the Liberal opposition have called for a commission of inquiry into the bank, instead of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee inquiry initiated by the government.