POWER FAILURE

THE people responsible for voting the Member for Wagga Daryl Maguire into office will likely never find out his personal views on the power sell-off debate – even when the Opposition finally reveals its stance.The staunchly Liberal Mr Maguire stood firm yesterday, refusing to comment on what he would take to the table at the Liberal Party’s 4pm meeting.With newspaper polls reporting that almost 90 per cent of people in the state are against the sell-off, the Riverina community is unlikely to know how much influence Mr Maguire had on his party’s stance.His personal views will only be discussed in the party room and publicly he intends to toe the party line – whatever it is.“I have views,” he said. “I’ve been consulting with people and my view will be made known after our party room meeting at 4pm. “I will know the party position,” he said.And Mr Maguire went one better than Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell, who promised to consult with the business community before announcing his stance.The Daily Advertiser can reveal that on Tuesday, Mr Maguire met with Country Energy managing director Craig Murray in Wagga.They had a lunch meeting prior to Mr Murray’s meeting with disgruntled members of the Riverina Eastern Regional Organisation of Councils (REROC) over their concerns Riverina councils are paying too much for electricity to power street lighting.Although Mr Maguire refused to confirm the lunch, Mr Murray was not quite as secretive and confessed he also could not persuade the Member for Wagga to reveal his position. “He wouldn’t tell (at lunch). He keeps his cards very close to his chest. I guess we’ll all know where we all stand by this Thursday or Friday,” Mr Murray said.If the power sell-off goes ahead, Mr Murray says electricity prices will not increase for the sake of profiteering.“I don’t think it will happen. The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) will still regulate pricing which has to be based on costs, not the profit margin. They will have to justify their costs,” he said.Meanwhile, Riverina Country Labor MLC Tony Catanzariti – who will vote on his party’s plan today when it is introduced into the Upper House by Treasurer Michael Costa – still needs some convincing.“I am going to wait for the debate. I certainly do have some thoughts on it. I just want to see exactly what is proposed,” he told the Advertiser yesterday. “If you're going to sell an asset, you need to make sure it (the money) goes into another worthwhile asset. If it does, then I will vote for it.”Treasurer Michael Costa revealed on Tuesday that he would introduce an amended version of the power bill into the Legislative Council which would deny Mr O’Farrell the satisfaction of having Premier Morris Iemma defeated in the Lower House.Labor MPs have previously threatened to cross the floor on the sale – a move that would further embarrass the embattled government.