Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Forshaw, I think you are being inconsistent because you were saying five per cent of the population were using an airline. The Commonwealth Bank probably had more access to everyone. You guys privatised a section of the Commonwealth Bank. The CSL—do you remember that? Do you remember selling that? How much did you sell that for? Two dollars a share, something like that. What did you cost the Australian taxpayer? ADI—you did that as well. And, of course, you were preparing the airports for sale.

I have already mentioned, in a previous taking note debate, Mr Beazley corporatising Telstra and putting an independent board in to make their policy decisions to ensure that they were acting in the best interests of the company rather than at government direction. Of course, Mr Beazley has been a very strong proponent of privatisation when it suits him. We had a quote from Senator Humphries about moving the country forward economically. In the national interest, we are better off with $8 billion or $10 billion or preferably $15 billion or $20 billion sitting in the Future Fund and available to fund our ongoing needs than we are having that money simply invested in a telecommunications company. The Labor Party has consistently demonstrated a complete lack of understanding about the importance of planning for our future. We have talked about our economic management— (Time expired)