George Campbell (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Minchin, Minister for Finance and Administration. I again refer the minister to the Prime Minister’s claims that the government does not want to dud existing Telstra shareholders. Is the minister aware of comments by the CEO of the Australian Shareholders Association, Mr Stuart Wilson, who has said that if the government dumps its Telstra shares into the Future Fund then:

... this will virtually guarantee that the share price will go sideways (at best) for years ...

How can the minister justify putting a ceiling on the Telstra share price when it has already collapsed from over $9 to $3.60 under the Howard government? What does the minister now have to say to the 1.6 million Telstra shareholders whose investment has already fallen by up to $5.40 per share only to see the Howard government going out of its way to continue their pain?