Since 1941 New South Wales has had continuous Labour government, under which extensions of public enterprise have been few in number, but in some cases important. The Walsh Island Dockyard had been allowed to run down during the late ’twenties, and after accumulating a El million loss during the Depression, had been closed by the Stevens Government in 1933 and its remnants of machinery sold by auction, virtually at scrap prices. The McKell Government, in accord with a 1941 election promise to improve employment opportunities in Newcastle, used the wartime need of ships and engineering services as a reason for establishing in 1942, with some of the old facilities but on a more suitable site in Newcastle harbour, the N.S.W. Government Engineering and Shipbuilding Undertaking. With initial financial help from the Commonwealth Government, this proved an effective enterprise both during and after the war, and at present employs about 1,800 people. It has undertaken shipbuilding for the Commonwealth, dredge repairs and other services for the Public Works Department, merchant ship repairs and general engineering, and it operates a floating dock. As some earnest of further intentions, the 1942 bill for the Dockyard at first contained a general clause authorizing the Governor-in-Council to set up other industrial undertakings, as the Minister-in-Charge, Mr. J. J. Cahill, said the Govern- ment was committed to consider, “at the appropriate time, the re-establishment of such State enterprises as the needs of the people demand”. However, the Legislative Council removed this clause, and a separate statute was used in 1946 to re-establish a State Brickworks. The original works had been sold by the Stevens Government in 1936 under circumstances to be described shortly. The profits of the new Brick- works had by 1951 covered the initial losses of the establishment years. The financial operations of both of these restored undertakings are conducted on the same principles as those of their predecessors, that is, by means of a special deposit account in the Treasury.

nnouncing the takeover of Metro Transport Sydney, the owner of the monorail and light rail lines, the Premier, Barry O'Farrell, and the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, showed little sentiment yesterday. "The real problem with the monorail, I think for most Sydneysiders, is that it doesn't actually go anywhere that you want to go," Mr O'Farrell said. The government offered another two explanations for the $19.8 million decision to buy out MTS and close the monorail, which began operations in 1988. As reported by the Herald in January, the monorail was a potential impediment to the redevelopment of the area around the convention centre and entertainment centre. Mr O'Farrell wants that area redeveloped by 2016, and property companies bidding for the work are now free to remove the monorail from their designs. Another reason to buy MTS was to make it easier to add to Sydney's one tram line, from Central to Lilyfield. Under the terms of the MTS 1994 contract, the company was handed the rights to plan and build any additions to the line. The contract also prevented the government building any new tram lines that intersected with MTS.