b'The era of privatisationThe 1990s saw Australian governments sell publicly ownedminutes to spare. The government requested last-minute assets in the electricity, transport, communications andchanges and the whole team was called back into the office financial services sectors to improve national productivityto finalise the details in time for Victorian premier Jeff and reduce government debt. A series of reports by theKennetts press conference on the Monday morning. After Industry Commission (now the Productivity Commission) inan intense weekend of negotiations, an agreement was the early 1990s made a strong case for the corporatisationreached just in time. and privatisation of state-owned monopolies, and the Hilmer Report on National Competition Policy, releasedThe firms were involved in the privatisation of most of the in 1993, provided the policy framework. The sale of theelectricity supply industry across Australia, from power Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 1991 marked thestations to power poles, with partners flying interstate on unofficial start of one of the largest privatisation programs Monday and returning on Friday for months on end until of its kind among OECD countries.projects were complete. For almost three years a team was ensconced in an office in South Australia to work with Members of the Australian Legal Group worked on many ofthe state on the privatisation of its electricity industrya these transactions, including the privatisation of Aerospacecomplex series of seven transactions that involved draftingTechnologies of Australia, the Government Insurance Officea new legislative and regulatory framework. (GIO), Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL), Tabcorp and the Victorian and South Australian electricity supplyWe were a team of people from across the various offices industries. As each state progressed its privatisation programs,who came together and proved to be a powerful force, says the firms advised both the federal and state governmentspartner John Greig. Our reputation began to precede us and and bidding consortia, gaining a strong reputation foras one project finished, we would all come back together privatisation work.for another one. This work really cemented the relationship between the firms and showed the benefits of working As a junior lawyer in the UK, Paul Quinn had worked ontogether. It started people thinking that maybe it wasthe privatisation of electricity networks. With his returntime to come together formally.to Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks he brought valuable experience, which helped support a bidding consortium forCross-office teams worked on the privatisation of Melbourne United Energy, Victorias $1.85 billion electricity distributionpublic transport network franchises (including several network. It was the first deal of its kind in Australia in a newiterations), Queensland financial institutions, electricity and industry and the firm quickly made its mark.gas retail businesses, an Australia-wide windfarm portfolio, the initial public offering of Queensland Rail, and the Abbot Quinn has not forgotten the rush to lodge the consortiumsPoint Coal Terminal. More recently Allens advised on the final bid. Sleep-deprived and running on adrenaline, he andprivatisation of the New South Wales electricity network one of the investment bankers boarded separate flightsand the WestConnex toll road franchises.from Sydney to Melbourne (in case one flight was delayed), each with a copy of the final bid. The two arrived with five 210'