It has long been obvious that Premier Iemma and I share some misgivings about NSW Treasurer Michael Costa's style of personal grooming and dress. Why else is this epitome of Mafioso-style elegance rarely found standing behind Morris Iemma during election campaign media conferences?
However, in other matters Iemma appears content to give his minister carte blanche whereas my mistrust remains visceral.
Yesterday's New Matilda gives a profile of Michael Costa which goes some way to explaining why many ordinary people dislike this politician.
"It's a strange old world when powerful unionists, who came to power through union politics and who nominally represent the Labor Party, are calling for policies that will only decrease the power of their own power-base - and hurt the lowest paid and most vulnerable in our society. But that's the allure of neo-classical economics. The stark beauty of the classical model often trumps the messy examination of the data on the ground. It's what the psychologists call a "heuristic".
On reading Labor, Prosperity and the Nineties, we shouldn't be surprised that Costa is spoiling for a fight with his union colleagues over energy deregulation. He has no truck with environmental concerns and doesn't seem to believe there is much of a case for union restraints on managerial power at all. Costa is a deregulator, a decentraliser, and a self-styled reformer. He is also a visceral climate change skeptic who once called Tim Flannery an "idiot."
Don't expect Costa to back down over energy deregulation. From the evidence on the public record, this is the fight of his career."
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