Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Minchin, the Minister for Finance and Administration. Does the minister recall telling the Senate yesterday that he was ‘not aware of any direction or instruction or commentary’ on behalf of the government about the detail of the entitlement offer to existing Telstra shareholders? Is the minister aware of reports in today’s Financial Review that an adviser on the sale told the newspaper on 27 August that a discount for shareholders was ‘in the mix’ but later told the media to play down this suggestion? As the minister responsible for the sale, isn’t the minister also responsible for the actions of the T3 sale team? Can the minister now explain what action he has taken to identify and sack this member of the government’s T3 sale team for deliberately misleading the market? Will the minister also refer the matter to ASIC for investigation to ensure the integrity of the T3 sale offer?

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is the most pathetic beat-up by the Labor Party imaginable. The Labor Party do not agree with selling this business at all—and now they are lecturing us about probity. This is a ridiculous beat-up. The government has made it clear, and I have made it clear, that there will be an entitlement for existing Telstra shareholders. I have made it clear that we will not be going into any detail as to what that entitlement will be. I cannot help financial journalists and others in the media speculating about what that entitlement might be. There has been no direction or instruction from me or anyone else to encourage any speculation on that. I am not going to listen to these ridiculous beat-ups from the Labor Party about this sale process.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I again ask the minister: what is he doing to find out which member of his team leaked this information to journalists? Is the minister aware that the Financial Review also quoted a stockbroker saying that, if Telstra were a small mining company, the stock would have been suspended by now? Hasn’t the market in Telstra shares been hopelessly compromised by the government and the behaviour of individuals on your T3 sale team? Will the minister accept responsibility and ensure that the sale team fully complies with the law?

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am certainly not going on a wild goose chase at the behest of Senator Conroy to track down some mythical figure that exists only in the mind of Senator Conroy. The government will of course comply fully with the law in the marketing of T3. Senator Conroy is the only one suggesting any issues in relation to that. The market remains orderly. The market understands that the government have wanted to sell further shares since we passed the legislation in this place a year ago to enable us to sell further shares. The offer is being handled in the most professional manner, and I commend all of the Telstra sale team on the professionalism which they are exhibiting.