Beware, new Council scam!

[Duk]

Most speed cameras are personelled by private companies. Private, profit driven companies............

It's the same for registration.  Most of what we pay in rego goes to a private insurance company (a private, profit driven insurance company!) who issues the Third Party Bodily insurance. You can tell it's a private company because we pay GST on the insurance. And we don't pay GST on government services.
So why isn't that money just put into a big pit and used to support bodily insurance claims from motor vehicle accident instead of going towards a private companies profits? Most will tell you all sorts of stories about how it's cheaper to do it this way ('cause paying for profits is always cheaper than just paying for services.............  ), but at the end of the day, we the people were sold out so some private company could get their grubby little hands on a heap of government enforced money (you no pay, you in legal trouble).

And while I'm ranting, next time you get harassed at a supermarket, at your front door or over the phone by a group who are trying to hook people up to a charity of some sort, ask them who they actually work for. They'll be a contracted (privately owned, profit driven) group who get paid on a commission basis.
Then ask them how much of your donation will actually go to the charity they want you to support.................
The minimum requirement that goes to the charity, here in Australia, is TEN PERCENT! So if you paid $20 a month to support a charity and do so for a full year, only $24 of your donations will actually go to the charity, the rest go to the company contracted to raise donations. Obviously 10% is the worst case scenario, but if it was more than a third, I'd be stunned.

[Beatle]

Unfortunately Duk, it is often the case that supply of a 'service' is cheaper if it's farmed out to the private sector.  Because that private company is driven to make a profit they will, or at least should be striving toward productivity that a Gov't simply cannot achieve.  At least not in present day Australia.

Now that's not to say there are not very good reasons to keep some sectors in Gov't hands regardless of the cost.

After that rant Duk, I'm assuming you work for nix?   

[Duk]

I'm quite happy with my income, even if it is less than it was a few years ago (change from shift work to day shift).

My rant comes from the incessant intrusion into the pockets of people under false pretenses. Typically involving 3rd parties who are in there making profit at the expense of those who have been convinced that they are doing the right thing.