In March this year the Premier of Tasmania, the Hon. Jeremy Rockliff MP, asked Saul  to give his Government “high level” advice on the possible privatization or divestment of 16 different government business enterprises (GBEs), state-owned companies (SOCs) and other entitites.  The terms of reference called for the advice to be presented in two stages, the first identifying those entities which, in my opinion, should not be further considered for privatization or divestment, and the second identifying those which may be suitable for further consideration to that end.

Saul’s first report was submitted to the Secretary to the Tasmanian Department of Treasury and Finance on 22nd April, and publicly released by the Treasurer, the Hon. Guy Barnett MP, on 29th May. In addition to identifying six entities which, in Saul’s opinion, should be ruled out of further consideration for privatisation or divestment, this report addresses the terms of reference calling for advice on ‘lessons to be learned’ from privatisations and divestments in other jurisdictions’.

The second report is due to be submitted by the end of June.

2025-04-22 Initial Assessment

This report has also been published on the Tasmanian Treasury’s website here: Privatisation assessment – First Report.T