Bills Digest No. 10 2003-04
Telstra
(Transition to Full Private Ownership) Bill
2003
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Concluding Comments
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Telstra (Transition to Full Private
Ownership) Bill 2003
Date Introduced:
26 June 2003
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Communications, Information Technology
and the Arts
Commencement:
The majority of the Act
will commence on Royal Assent. Part 2 of Schedule 1 commences on
the day on which the Commonwealth's shareholding falls below
majority control. Part 3 of Schedule 1 commences on the day that
85% of voting shares are held by persons other than the
Commonwealth.
The purpose of
the Bill is to remove the restriction in the Telstra
Corporation Act 1991 that requires the Commonwealth to retain
50.1 per cent of equity in Telstra Corporation Ltd (Telstra), thus
enabling its full sale. The Bill includes other provisions such as
a requirement for regular and independent reviews of regional
telecommunications services.
On 1 March 1901, the State departments of
posts, telegraphs and telephones were, by Proclamation, transferred
to the newly federated Commonwealth of Australia, pursuant to
section 69 of the Constitution. Once transferred, the Commonwealth
department was then subject to the exclusive power of the
Commonwealth under section 52 (ii) of the Constitution. Included in
the Constitution was also a specific head of power to enable the
Commonwealth to make laws for the peace, order and good government
of the Commonwealth with respect to:
51(v.) Postal, telegraphic, telephonic, and other
like services.(1)
The Commonwealth's power under section 51(v.)
is wide enough to authorise laws on radio and television broadcasts
and the power is regarded as a classic example of how progressive
interpretation of constitutional law responds to changed
circumstances.
It is important to distinguish the difference
between the methods the Commonwealth uses to deliver services
through its departments and various business entities and the
constitutional power of the Commonwealth to implement national
policies by way of legislation. The full sale of Telstra does not
preclude the Commonwealth from continuing to pass national laws on
telecommunications matters. This is in contrast to some other
federations (such as Canada) where federal powers extend only to
communications between the provinces.
Following federation, the Commonwealth created
the Postmaster-General's Department under the Post and
Telegraphs Act of 1901 and placed the control of post and
telecommunications under the department. Control of the department
was vested in a Minister of State for the Commonwealth the
Postmaster-General. In Bradley v The Commonwealth
(1973)(2), the High Court of Australia recognised that
the Postmaster-General had, in effect, a monopoly in respect of the
commercial provision of telegraph and telephone services.
Postal services and telecommunications
functions were separated in 1975 with the establishment of the
Australian Postal Commission and the Australian Telecommunications
Commission (see the then Postal Services Act 1975 and
Telecommunications Act 1975). Telecom was created in 1975
to be the monopoly telecommunications provider and it was
corporatised in 1989 to become the Australian Telecommunications
Corporation.
Telstra was formed in 1992 following the
passage of the Australian and Overseas Telecommunications
Corporation Act 1991 (now the Telstra Corporation Act
1991). Telstra is a public company limited by shares, formed
from the merger of Telecom Australia (the then domestic
telecommunications carrier) and the Overseas Telecommunication
Commission (the then international telecommunications carrier).
Within Australia, Telecom changed its name to Telstra in 1995 (and
in 1993, overseas).
The
Telecommunications Act 1991 allowed the commencement of
competition in telecommunications by establishing a duopoly network
between Optus and Telstra and a mobile only operator, Vodaphone.
The publicly owned AUSSAT domestic satellite system was sold to
Optus in the early 1990s. Up until 1997, regulation of
telecommunications was the province of Austel, an industry
specific regulator. Regulation of telecommunications competition
now falls under the Trade Practices Act 1974 which is
administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission.(3) Comprehensive competition in
telecommunications was introduced in Australia on 1 July 1997.
After a decade of competition, Telstra still
has the largest market share in fixed line, domestic long distance,
international calls, mobile and internet access. Telstra's
competitors in Australia are all foreign controlled
entities.(4)
The Sale of the First Third of Telstra (T 1)
The Coalition Government's 1996 election
policy contained a commitment to partially privatise Telstra. The
proposal involved the sale of one-third of the Commonwealth's
equity by way of a share float with 65% of the shares reserved for
Australian investors. The community service obligations of
telecommunications carriers were maintained. On 2 May 1996, the
Government introduced the Telstra (Dilution of Public Ownership)
Bill 1996.(5)
The first Telstra share offer opened on 15
October 1997 at a share issue price of $3.30, (including the
discount for Australian retail investors) paid in two instalments.
The fully paid price per share excluding the discount was $3.40.
Telstra shares were first traded on the Australian Stock Exchange
on 17 November 1997. Concurrent listings of the shares were offered
on the New York and New Zealand Stock Exchanges. The share offer
was more than four times subscribed. The offer to institutional
investors was 6.2 times subscribed. The Telstra public share offer
was completed in accordance with the Government's sale timetable. A
performance audit by the Australian National Audit Office
concluded:
This represents a significant achievement, given
the unprecedented scale of the offer.(6)
The same audit report, however, noted that the
share offer was not fully priced (meaning that the costs of fees
and commissions for the sale process might be more competitively
priced) and that overall value for money in any future sale could
be improved.(7)
The 1998-99 Australian National Audit Office
report also noted the then estimated gross proceeds of the sale at
$14.24 billion and direct costs of sale at $260
million.(8)
The Telstra 2 sale was outlined in the
Coalition Government's 1998 pre-election policy. The Telstra
(Further Dilution of Public Ownership) Act 1999 was passed by
Parliament on 21 June 1999. The Act authorised the sale of up to
49.9% of the Commonwealth's original equity.
The 2000-2001 performance audit by the
Australian National Audit Office (Second Tranche Sale of
Telstra Shares) notes that Telstra 2 was one of the largest
public share offers conducted world-wide in 1999.(9) The
audit report estimated that the gross proceeds amounted to $16.04
billion with direct sale costs of $169 million. The issue price was
set at $7.80 which was a slight discount on the then market price
for Telstra shares. The retail price was discounted to $7.40. The
institutional demand was 1.9 times the allocation. The audit report
concluded that the issue was fully priced and noted:
The success of the offer was underpinned by the
strength of Australian domestic demand, which was reflected in 87
per cent of the shares being allocated to Australian investors,
including two-thirds of shares allocated to retail
investors.(10)
The possibility of
also using hybrid securities in T2 was examined by the Office of
Asset Sales and IT Outsourcing and its advisers but the proposal
(i.e. using exchangeable bonds) was abandoned shortly before the
offer was launched.(11)
At the close of the market on Monday, 30 June
2003, Telstra was trading at $4.40 with a 52 week high of $5.08 and
a low of $3.92.(12)
Final Sale of Telstra (T 3)
On the opening of the Fortieth Parliament on
12 February 2002, it was stated that:
The government will not proceed with any further
sale of Telstra until it is satisfied that arrangements are in
place to deliver adequate services to all
Australians.(13)
Budget Paper No. 1 for Budget 2003-2004,
issued on 13 May 2003, stated that the forward estimates included
the effect of the sale of Telstra but that the Government has
committed not to introduce the necessary legislation until it was
satisfied arrangements exist to deliver adequate services, in
particular to rural and regional Australia. It was revealed in
Senate Estimates in the Finance and Public Administration
Legislation Committee on 28 May 2003 that the Budget Papers
indicated that the Government's valuation for the sale of Telstra
was based on the price that it hoped to achieve rather than the
then current market price for the shares, which was
lower.(14)
The media speculated that, on the Government's
estimate, the indicative price per share was between
$5.25(15) to $5.75, instead of the then market price of
about $4.25.(16) The Minister for Finance and
Administration, Hon Nick Minchin MP, confirmed that the estimate
reflected 'the value of Telstra based on the share price we would
want to receive for our shares' and he also confirmed that it was
the Government's policy to sell Telstra.(17)
On 26 June 2003, in the introductory Second
Reading speech for the Bill the Government stated:
While the Government is moving to establish the
legislation immediately, it has undertaken not to proceed with any
further sale of Telstra until it is fully satisfied that
arrangements are in place to deliver adequate telecommunications
services to all Australians, including maintaining the improvements
to existing services. The independent regional telecommunications
inquiry report, released in 2002, found that the government had
addressed consumer concerns identified by the independent
telecommunications inquiry in 2000.
The bill provides for the timing of the sale to
remain open. The government, however, will be seeking to maximise
the returns from the sale of its remaining
holdings.(18)
Since the introduction of the final sale Bill,
there have been divergent views on the application of the proceeds
of the sale of Telstra. The Prime Minister, the Hon John Howard MP,
deflected calls from his Coalition partners to apply the proceeds
to rural and regional Australia in his view, the priority was to
retire debt.(19)
On 19 March 2000, the Government announced the
establishment of a Telecommunications Service Inquiry to assess
service levels to customers in metropolitan, regional, rural and
remote areas. The inquiry assessed Telstra's specified performance
criteria, namely the legislated Customer Service Guarantee. The
inquiry was chaired by Mr Tim Besley AO and it is referred to as
the 'Besley Inquiry'. On 24 May 2001, Senator the Hon Richard
Alston, Minister for Communications, Information and the Arts,
issued a media release that detailed the Government's response to
the 17 Besley recommendations. One of the responses was the
announcement of an allocation of a total of $52.2 million, over
four years, to establish a National Communications Fund to assist
significant telecommunications projects in the education and health
services sectors for regional communities.(20)
On 25 June 2003, the Government released its
response to the Regional Telecommunications Inquiry (the 'Estens'
Inquiry). The Estens Inquiry recommended that Telstra, as the
primary universal service provider, be required to maintain an
ongoing local presence in regional, rural and remote Australia into
the future.(21) The Government stated in its response
that it will impose a licence condition on Telstra to give effect
to this recommendation.(22)
In the lead up to the 2001 Election, the
Australian Labor Party issued a Plan for
Telstra.(23) The Labor Party's policy included the
retention of majority public ownership and the improvement of
access to the latest broadband technology and an enhancement of
services and pricing for consumers.
Since the final sale Bill was introduced, the
Australia Labor Party has repeated its call for the retention of
majority public ownership of Telstra and pointed to the
implications of a private Telstra that would dominate the
telecommunications sector and may use its power to dominate other
sectors like media and information.(24) The Labor Party
spokesman for communications, Mr Lindsay Tanner MP, said:
Labor sees telecommunications services as
essential services, built around a fixed-line network which is
still largely a natural monopoly. In a huge country with a small
and very unevenly distributed population, government ownership of a
dominant telecommunications carrier remains
critical.(25)
The retention of Telstra in majority public
ownership returns a dividend to taxpayers from what is a large
enterprise. Labor's Shadow Minister for Cabinet and Finance, Bob
McMullan MP, estimates that the sale of Telstra, based on
conservative assumptions, would make the budget worse off by around
$2.1 billion over the four year period beginning
2005-06.(26) Mr McMullan also notes:
The sale of Telstra is one of the most important
decisions facing Australia. It is critically important that all the
facts are presented so that an informed decision takes place and
Australian taxpayers' interests are protected. (27)
The Australian Democrats do not support the
further sale of Telstra. Their communications spokesperson, Senator
Lyn Allison, has publicly stated:
I would like to start with an unequivocal
statement. The Democrats do not support the further privatisation
of Telstra.(28)
On 21 July 2003, AAP reported that the
Australian Democrats confirmed that the party and its members did
not support the further privatisation of
Telstra.(29)
Two independent members of Parliament, the Hon
Bob Katter MP and Mr Tony Windsor MP are reported as stating on 29
June 2003 that they have conducted surveys in their respective
rural electorates and the majority of the responses are against the
further sale of Telstra. The concern expressed was that the likely
long-term consequences are not known so there is no guarantee of an
enhancement of rural telecommunications.(30)
Mr Alby Schultz MP, a Government backbencher,
is reported as saying that his constituents in the country
electorate of Hume are dismayed at service standards and he may
abstain when the House of Representatives votes on the final sale
Bill.(31)
The Prime Minister, the Hon John Howard MP,
has commented that an assumption should not be made that everybody
in rural Australia is opposed to the sale of Telstra and reported
that he was informed by country people in Queensland that services
have improved quite significantly, particularly over the past five
years.(32)
If the final sale Bill is rejected by the
Senate, the immediate consequence is that Telstra will remain in
majority public ownership. The estimated proceeds from the sale of
the remaining 50.1 per cent Commonwealth ownership are $30 billion
plus, depending on the timing of the sale.(33)
It is generally accepted that a failure to
pass the Bill will see it subsequently reintroduced to establish it
as one of the Bills for justifying a double dissolution of
Parliament.
In the case of both T1 and T2, the Government
considered, but did not use, the option of hybrid securities in
addition to the release of ordinary shares. In this Bill, the
Government is expressly dealing with that option as part of the
final sale scheme.
The Bill introduces a sale scheme arrangement
whereby the Commonwealth may transfer some of its shares to a
wholly-owned Commonwealth company that will issue hybrid
securities.
A brief explanation of the share market's
terminology for hybrid securities can be found on the ASX web site
where there is an outline of the broad classification for this
group of securities.(34) Essentially, the more recent
type of hybrid securities provide a set dividend rate for a 5 year
period and they can be later converted into shares. The group also
includes redeemable preference shares (see discussion, below).
Traditional hybrid securities usually convert at a set ratio e.g.
one hybrid to one ordinary share. Lately, there has been some
attention to resettable hybrids e.g. the holder can accept new
terms, redeem the face value of the share or convert them under the
agreed ratio.
At the time of the Parliament's examination of
the legislation for the sale of the first third of Telstra in 1996,
Senator Brian Harradine raised the suggestion of looking at the
option of a hybrid security sale scheme approach for Telstra.
During the debate in the Senate on the Telstra (Dilution of Public
Ownership) Bill 1996 he said:
The remaining question that concerns me
considerably is obtaining the $8 billion from a one-third sale of
Telstra by the issue of ordinary shares. I have proposed to the
government in my letter that it should consider the issue of
redeemable preference shares in a variety of
ways.(35)
As noted above, hybrid securities are a broad
group and they are used to achieve different objectives. Some are
more flexible than others. In hindsight, it is noted that Senator
Harradine showed prescience in 1996 by questioning whether the sale
arrangement for one-third of Telstra at that time, by way of
ordinary shares, was the only option. Senator Harradine's idea was
not taken up at the time but it was referred to the Senate Economic
Legislation Committee for report. The Government's response to the
Senate Committee's report(36) included the
following:
While recognising that hybrid securities may
provide a useful form of capital raising in certain circumstances,
the government is mindful of the disadvantages identified in the
Committee's report regarding the exclusive use of various types of
hybrid securities for the Telstra offer. The range of hybrid
securities discussed in the majority report is very broad,
encompassing very different features within both redeemable
preference share and converting preference share structures. The
majority report identifies advantages for Telstra and for the
government's wider reform objectives in the use of ordinary equity,
in preference to widespread use of hybrid securities of an equity
character. Use of hybrid securities of debt character, even apart
from any tax issues, would lack the advantages for Telstra and for
the government's program that ordinary equity, and securities of an
equity character, would have.(37)
It should be noted that the first Telstra
(Dilution of Public Ownership) Sale Bill 1996 contained what would
become section 8AJ of the Telstra Corporation Act 1991
which governs the Telstra sale scheme. Subsection 8AJ (4)
authorised the various elements that may comprise the sale scheme.
These elements included 'the redemption of redeemable preference
shares in Telstra held by the Commonwealth' (paragraph 8AJ(4)(i)).
As noted above, the Government chose to implement the sale scheme
by way of the more conventional offer of ordinary shares.
Looking back, it is difficult to understand
the anxiety expressed at the time of the first sale about the use
of redeemable preference shares. In particular, the Senate
Economics Committee reported that Telstra had submitted to the
Committee that the market for hybrid securities in Australia is not
well established or understood.(38) More recently, the
securities market is reported to have greeted the announcement that
the final sale (T3) would involve hybrid securities with a 'yawn'
but some analysts noted that this approach could help the markets
digest the proposed $30 billion plus sell-off.(39)
The Government has now decided to maximise the
flexibility available in the sale arrangements for the remaining
publicly-owned shares. Apart from the mixture of the types of
shares and hybrid securities on offer, the Government may also
decide to sell by way of a number of tranches over a period of
time.(40)
The Bill provides a definition of its broad
group of hybrid securities applicable under the Telstra sale
arrangements in a proposed new section 8AJA at
Item 16 in Schedule 1 of the Bill.
The Telecommunications Act 1977
regulates entities such as carriers and service providers. A
carrier's licence is subject to conditions.
Item 1 inserts a new
section 66 into the Telecommunications Act 1977
to empower the Minister or the Australian Communications Authority
to make decisions of an administrative character in connection with
the carrier's licence conditions that ensure that Telstra retains a
local presence in regional, rural and remote parts of Australia.
These administrative decisions could cover such matters as draft
local presence plans.
The Telstra Corporation Act 1991 (the
Act) was formerly the Australian and Overseas
Telecommunications Corporation Act 1991. Telstra is the
successor of Telecom and OTC. The Act contains provisions which
place restrictions on the ownership of Telstra, including a limit
on foreign ownership. The Act establishes Telstra's Head Office and
base of operations in Australia. The Chair of Telstra must be an
Australian citizen.
Item 2 inserts a definition
of the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) in the
Act (see specific reference to the ACCC in Item
86).
Item 3 inserts a definition
of hybrid security issuer company into the Act by reference to
amendments to section 8AJ (see, particularly, Item
14). The hybrid security issuer company will be a wholly
owned Commonwealth company.
Item 4 inserts a definition
of the Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee
(RTIRC) in the Act. The RTIRC will be established by a new
section 74 (see Item 32). The RTIRC will
conduct regular independent reviews of the adequacy of
telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote parts of
Australia.
Item 8 and Item
9 are key provisions in the Bill. The repeal of Division 2
of Part 2 of the Act removes the statutory obligation on retention
by the Commonwealth of majority ownership of the voting shares in
Telstra. In a practical sense, it is interesting to note how
briefly worded the amendments are to achieve such a significant
event.
Items 10 to 15 provide
definitions associated with the marketing of hybrid securities
under the sale scheme. Item 13 is a typographical
correction to the Act. Item 15 identifies that a
wholly-owned Commonwealth company will issue the Telstra hybrid
securities.
Item 16 is a key amendment
and it inserts a new section 8AJA Sale scheme hybrid
securities provision in the Act. These Telstra hybrid
securities will be issued in Australia and overseas and they may be
issued in Australian currency or foreign currency denomination. A
discussion of hybrid securities is mentioned in the Background,
above.
Item 17 exempts Telstra's
hybrid securities from State or Territory stamp duty or other
taxes.
Item 18 removes any doubt
that the issue of Telstra hybrid securities to the extent that the
issue represents a borrowing on behalf of the Commonwealth is
authorised by an Act of Parliament. This provision is inserted to
address the broad market description of a hybrid security as a
combination of equity and debt.
Items 19 to 21 authorise
access to appropriation to enable the Commonwealth to meet the
costs of engaging in the issue and management of hybrid securities
as part of the Telstra sale scheme.
Item 27 inserts three
new sections 8AYA, 8AYB and 8AYC into the Act to
empower the Minister to regulate Telstra and any Commonwealth-owned
company that issues equity in Telstra to ensure that activities by
those entities in equity markets, unrelated to the Telstra
sale-scheme, do not compromise the Commonwealth's interests in
Telstra. The Minister's power under new section
8AYA becomes redundant once the Commonwealth's equity
falls below 15%. The Bill contains an automatic repeal of
new section 8AYA once that event occurs (see
Item 59).
Item 32 inserts a new
Part 10 Independent reviews of regional telecommunications
in the Act (as new sections 72 to 86). A proposed
Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee (RTIRC)
will review the adequacy of telecommunications services in
regional, rural and remote parts of Australia. The reports of the
RTIRC will be tabled in Parliament. The RTIRC will comprise a Chair
and at least two other members, appointed by the Minister on a
part-time membership basis. The RTIRC may be assisted in the
performance of its functions by the Australian Communications
Authority, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and
the portfolio Department.
The amendments at Items 33 to
52 commence on the day designated by the Minister when the
Commonwealth's shareholding in Telstra is less than a simple
majority.
Under this Bill, once the Commonwealth's
equity in Telstra falls below 50%, Telstra is then no longer
regarded as a 'Commonwealth authority' for the purposes of a range
of other Commonwealth Acts and Regulations. It is necessary,
therefore, to remove references from those Acts. In addition, it is
necessary to provide some transitional provisions to enable matters
that were in train under those Commonwealth laws to be processed to
finalisation. These Commonwealth laws include:
Archives Regulations
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (but
note the transitional provision at Item 38)
Freedom of Information (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Regulations
Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees)
Regulations 1957
Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees)
Regulations
Occupational Health and Safety
(Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991
Ombudsman Regulations 1977
Ombudsman Act 1976 (but note the
transitional provision at Item 44), and
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation
Act 1988.
These amendments ensure that the new
privatised Telstra is freed from a range of specific reporting,
accountability, employee and occupational, health and safety
obligations relevant to Commonwealth related activities and
responsibilities.
Item 52 inserts a new
Part 3A in the Telstra Corporation Act 1991 to
deal with transitional provisions for matters that require residual
Commonwealth legal effect. These include employees' long service
and maternity leave calculations for service periods that were
previously accrued as Commonwealth employees. The Director of
Public Prosecutions may also act in relation to certain acts,
omissions or proceedings that occurred when Telstra was a
Commonwealth authority (see new section 9Q).
In one case, the 'designated day' effect
actually triggers an earlier date through another Commonwealth Act.
New section 9H applies section 128A of the
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC
Act). Section 128A of the SRC Act states:
128A Comcare s liability to be discharged by
prescribed Commonwealth authorities in some cases
(1) In spite of anything in this Act, an amount
that Comcare is liable to pay under this Act in respect of any
injury, loss or damage suffered before 1 July 1989 (whether or
not suffered before the commencing day) by an employee of a
prescribed Commonwealth authority must be paid by the authority and
any such payment operates, to the extent of the payment, as a
discharge of Comcare s liability.
(2) An action or proceeding does not lie against
Comcare for recovery of an amount mentioned in subsection (1),
but such an action or proceeding may be brought against the
prescribed Commonwealth authority concerned.
(3) Nothing in this Act requires the Commission to
prepare an estimate in relation to a prescribed Commonwealth
authority for any period before the financial year starting on
1 July 1989.
(4) In this section:
Under section 128A of the SRC Act
Telstra is placed on the same footing as other Commonwealth-owned
business enterprises that have been sold such as the Commonwealth
Bank. Telstra will therefore continue to be liable to pay an amount
in respect of an employee's injury, loss or damage suffered before
1 July 1989.
Item 53 is an important
provision as it enables the Auditor-General to resign as auditor of
Telstra once Telstra ceases to be a Commonwealth authority.
Telstra Corporation Act
1991
A 15% or more equitable interest in a public
company is considered a significant interest. Telstra is likely to
be sold in a number of tranches and it is necessary for the
Commonwealth to ensure that it receives reports on the progressive
sell-down of Telstra, even when it falls below simple majority
control. Once the 85% sale day is determined, then the
Commonwealth's 'significant holding' falls below 15% and it is then
no longer appropriate for the Commonwealth to impose reporting and
other special regulatory measures on Telstra.
Items 54 to 59 will remove
obligations on Telstra to report on various matters and to provide
information to the Commonwealth once the Commonwealth's equity
falls below 15%.
The
conclusions and different views put to the Senate Economics
Legislation Committee for its 1997 report Inquiry into Public
Equity in Telstra Corporation Limited (41)are worth
revisiting. The current 1.8 million shareholders of Telstra shares
might wonder why they were not offered the same level of
flexibility of hybrid securities before this stage of the Telstra
sale-schemes. It is a fair comment, however, that the size of the
proposed T3 will warrant additional flexibility in its
sale-scheme.
The
privatisation of Telstra will see a lessening of the more direct
supervision by the Executive and the Parliament of this large
business enterprise. As noted above, the privatisation will not,
however, affect the Parliament's power to pass laws on legislative
policy initiatives directed at regulating telecommunications
matters.
- Commonwealth of Australia
Constitution Act (The Constitution).
- Bradley v The Commonwealth
of Australia and Another (1972-73) 128 CLR
557 at p. 566.
- Drawn from Jock Given, 'Foreign ownership of
media and telecommunications: an Australian story', Media and
Arts Law Review, Vol 7 no. 4, December 2002, pp. 253 272, and
Anita Stuhmcke, 'The rise of the Australian Telecommunications
Industry Ombudsman, Telecommunications Policy 26,
Pergamon, 2002, pp. 69 85.
- Jock Given, 'Foreign ownership of media and
telecommunications: an Australian story', Media and Arts Law
Review, Vol 7 no. 4, December 2002, p. 260.
- See the background summaries in Bills Digest
No. 72, 1995 96, Telstra (Dilution of Public Ownership) Bill 1996
by Dr Kim Jackson, Brendan Bailey and Elizabeth Williams and Bills
Digest No. 176, 1997 98, Telstra (Transition to Full Private
Ownership) Bill 1998 by Lee Jones, Department of the Parliamentary
Library, Canberra. After passage through the Parliament the Bill
became Act 81 of 1996 and received the Royal Assent on 19 December
1996.
- Australian National Audit Office,
Sale of One-Third of Telstra, Audit Report No. 10
98-99, Canberra, 19 October 1998, p. 12.
- ibid, pp. 12 13.
- ibid, p. 13.
- Australian National Audit Office, Second
Tranche Sale of Telstra Shares, Audit Report No. 20
2000-2001, Canberra, 30 November 2000, p. 10.
- ibid, p. 10.
- ibid, p. 35.
- 'Market Wrap', Australian Financial
Review, 1 July 2003, p. 26.
- 'Governor-General's Speech', House of
Representatives, Debates, 12 February 2002, p. 22.
- 'Consideration of Budget Estimates', Senate
Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, Senate,
Hansard, 28 May 2003, p. 343 (Proof).
- Laura Tingle and Toni O'Loughlin, 'Telstra
sell-off plan to cut risk', Australian Financial Review, 8
July 2003, p. 1.
- Toni O'Loughlin, 'Value of Telstra shares
inflated in budget', Australian Financial Review,
29 May 2003, p. 3.
- Natalie Barr, Sunrise, Channel 7,
Thursday, 29 May 2003.
- The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson, Minister for
Education, Science and Training, 'Second Reading Speech', Telstra
(Transition to Full Private Ownership) Bill 2003, House of
Representatives, Debates, 26 June 2003, p. 16459.
- Toni O'Loughlin and Mark Skulley, 'PM:
Telstra cash for debt not the bush', Australian Financial
Review, 9 July 2003, p. 3.
- Senator the Hon Richard Alston, Minister for
Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Media
Release, 'Government releases detailed response to 17 Besley
recommendations', 24 May 2001.
- The Hon John Anderson MP, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional services and
Senator the Hon Richard Alston, Minister for Communications,
Information Technology and the Arts, 'Government response to
Regional Telecommunications Inquiry', Joint Media Release,
25 June 2003, p. 4, at www.dcita.gov.au. The Estens Inquiry
Report can be found at http://www.telinquiry.gov.au/rti-report.html.
- ibid.
- 'Kim Beazley's Plan for Telstra', Australian
Labor Party, 3 November 2001, and Hon Kim Beazley MP, 'Labor's Plan
for Telstra and telecommunications', Media Statement, 31
October 2001.
- Mr Lindsay Tanner MP, 'Telco's privatisation
a bit rich', Australian Financial Review, 8 July 2003, p.
55.
- ibid.
- See letter from Bob McMullan MP, Shadow
Minister for Finance and Cabinet, 'Telstra sale would damage
budget', Australian Financial Review, 10 July 2003.
- ibid.
- Senator Lyn Allison, 'Senator Lyn Allison
speaks to the CTN Forum: Selling Telstra', Australian Democrats
Speeches, 10 October 2002.
- 'Democrats wrangle over Telstra', AAP,
news.ninemsn.com.au/ Business, 21 July 2003.
- Sunday (television current affairs
program), 29 June 2003.
- Mark Davis and Sam Strutt, 'PM denies Telstra
backlash', Australian Financial Review, 5 July 2003, p.
6.
- ibid.
- Michelle Grattan, 'Dickie talking tough on
Telstra proceeds', Sun Herald, 6 July 2003, p. 25.
- The ASX details are at http://www.asx.com.au/markets/l3/irmhybridsecurities_am3.shtm.
- Senator Brian Harradine, 'Second Reading
Speech', Telstra (Dilution of Public Ownership) Bill 1996, Senate,
Debates, 5 December 1996, p. 6752. See also Brendan
Bailey, 'Telstra: Redeemable Preference Shares', Research Note
No. 7 1996 97, Department of the Parliamentary Library,
Canberra.
- Inquiry into Public Equity in Telstra
Corporation Ltd, Senate Economics Legislation Committee,
Senate, March 1997, see the Summary of Conclusions at
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/economics_ctte/telstra/report/c05.htm
- The Hon Senator Ian Campbell, Parliamentary
Secretary to the Treasurer, 'Economics Legislation Committee:
Report: Government Response', Senate, Debates, 27 May
1997, p. 3783.
- Inquiry into Public Equity in Telstra
Corporation Ltd, Senate Economics Legislation Committee,
Senate, March 1997, see fourth dot point in the Summary of
Conclusions at
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/economics_ctte/telstra/report/c05.htm
- Colin Kruger, 'Talk of T3 hybrid fails to
excite', Sydney Morning Herald, 9 July 2003, p. 20.
- The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson, Minister for
Education, Science and Training, 'Second Reading Speech', Telstra
(Transition to Full Private Ownership) Bill 2003, House of
Representatives, Debates, 26 June 2003, p. 16459.
- The Summary of Conclusions of the Senate's
1997 report Inquiry into Public Equity in Telstra Corporation
Limited is at
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/economics_ctte/telstra/report/c05.htm.
Brendan Bailey
6 August 2003
Bills Digest Service
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