'Privatisation through the back door', says unions Auditor Peter Costello and Treasurer Tim Nicholls. Unions have accused the Newman government of planning "privatisation through the back door" as part of its response to the audit of the state's books. The Commission of Audit, spearheaded by former federal treasurer Peter Costello, and the government's response to that report has been tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls said the theme of the report was "how do we go about ensuring that we deliver high quality, cost effective services for Queenslanders, sustainably into the future." Mr Nicholls said the government has met that challenge and responded with a balanced view, which maintain assets while "improving efficiencies" through services. "At this time we have decided not to seek a mandate at the next election to sell Energex, Ergon or Powerlink, we haven't made a decision in relation to the ports, the Queensland Investment Corporation or in relation to the Gencos, [power generation companies such as Stanwell] but we will consider the options available in relation to those assets over the next period of time," Mr Nicholls said. We won't be taking a sale forward without outing that to the people of Queensland at the next election. The other major focus of the report is the delivery of better services through contestability. And as I said in parliament, it is important to remember that contestability is a process not an outcome. It a process by which we test the delivery of government services, to ensure we are getting the best service at the best price. It doesn't mean that services will be outsourced, it doesn't mean that services will be retained. It is a process of testing the delivery of that service to make sure it is the best service Queenslanders can have. Not true, say the unions. Together Union secretary Alex Scott brought a person dressed in duck suit to parliament, to make the point that if it "walks like a duck and quacks like a duck" in this case, it was privatisation. "At the end of the day, this is privatisation by another name," he said. This government has protected the asset privatisation because they knew it would cost the election. Their only hope now is to try and convince Queenslanders that this process isn't privatisation by another name. Queenslanders deserve the best services, not the cheapest services. Queensland Council of Unions president John Battams called it "privatisation through the back door." "In part, round one has gone to the union movement, they have steered clear, just for the moment, in terms of wholesale sale of assets, but they have decided to actually reward their mates at the big end of town by outsourcing almost every aspect of government services," he said. Mr Battams said the government had taken Queenslanders one step closer to a "user pay" system, for services which were currently provided for free. While not putting a price on it, Mr Battams said Queensland unions were preparing for a "comprehensive" campaign against the government's proposals. Wearing a "here we Joh again" t-shirt, Electrical Trade Union state organiser Jason Young said from what his organisation had digested of the report, there were matters of "deep concern." "It is quite diabolical for our members and workers in general, in Queensland Rail, in electricity generation, CS Energy and Stanwell," he said. Shadow treasurer Curtis Pitt said the government was being led by ideologies, not good policy. The LNP government is being driven by ideology at the same time they are hurting Queensland families. They are hurting Queensland families because they are now affecting [them] in terms of their essential services, in the areas of transport, health and education. Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan said the report proved there was "pretty much nothing the Newman LNP Government is not prepared to sell, privatise or outsource." "What we're seeing today is the large sale corporatisation of the Queensland government which will hit front line services relied on by Queenslanders every day," Mr Swan said. And in doing so, they've blatantly used the commission of audit to manipulate the budget to justify it. But it was not everyone had a bad reaction - Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland's general manager Nick Behrens said the business community "supports the cautious approach" the state had taken. Queensland businesses are in favour of the use of outsourcing, Mr Behrens said. "They are in favour because there is a view that there are better outcomes, better service provision, better value for money, better customer service, but most importantly there is a view it is a benefit to the economy," he said. Queensland businesses will benefit from the use of government outsourcing.