Howard wedges Iemma over Snowy Mountain scheme sale

Prime minister John Howard has wedged NSW premier Morris Iemma and Victorian premier Steve Bracks into backing down over the privatisation of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric scheme.

The federal government pulled its 13 per cent stake from sale, which would have meant Iemma would bear most of the political pain for the unpopular privatisation proposal. NSW and Victorian Labor had planned to plug their budgets with up to $3bn from the sale of the Hydro, considered by many an icon of early multiculturalism. Iemma is 10 months out from a state election.

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