Mr McARTHUR —My question is addressed to the Minister for Finance and Administration. Given the government's overwhelming mandate at the last election for the one-third sale of Telstra, can the minister inform the House of the government's response to reports which indicate other political groups may now throw their weight behind a further sale of Telstra?

Mr FAHEY —I thank the honourable member for Corangamite for his question. I did see an article in the Australian Financial Review last Friday which carried the headline `Labor prepares to backflip on Telstra'. That article, by Steve Lewis, suggested that the Labor Party has backed away from its hardline opposition to the privatisation of Telstra and is now looking to adopt a more moderate position. The article said:

Party strategists want the ALP to ditch its hard-line stance on Telstra, arguing that Labor should have flexibility to sell-down another 16 per cent.

When you see articles such as this, one must wonder just who are these party strategist? I can only presume that the party strategists do not include the former leader of the Australian Democrats, the now ex-senator Cheryl Kernot. I noted from a statement that was issued by the Labor Party that Mrs Kernot has gone on an extended holiday courtesy of her superannuation contributions. It seems to me fairly obvious that the Labor Party would want Mrs Kernot to go on an extended holiday because the biennial policy stoush is about to happen for the Labor Party. In January next year the biennial conference will be on. It is now fairly clear, from what Mrs Kernot has said in the past about privatisation, that she is probably not welcome at the biennial conference. As leader of the Australian Democrats, in respect of the privatisation of both Qantas and the Commonwealth Bank she said that both were undertaken by the Labor Party regardless of its party platform. She said in the Senate on 9 May last year:

The privatisation of both Qantas and the Commonwealth Bank was strenuously opposed by all Australian Democrat senators.

The Democrats with Cheryl Kernot at the helm also strenuously opposed the sale of Telstra. We see now that the nominal spokesman on telecommunications for the ALP, Senator Chris Schacht, as confirmed that the ALP may approve the draft platform to adopt a further sell-down of Telstra. Of course, that was enough provocation for the ALP left wing.

Just as they did with the back-flips on the sale of Qantas and the Commonwealth Bank, the left wing is now drawing its line in the sand in respect of the proposed sell-down of a further 16 per cent of Telstra. No doubt they are trying to contact the former leader of the Australian Democrats who is on extended holidays trying to get her support. And no doubt the right wing wants to keep Mrs Kernot right away from the left wing at the present time because they do not want Mrs Kernot championing the cause of the further sell-down of Telstra.

The ALP are on the record as saying that they would not support any sell off—in fact, they oppose the draft platform. We know of course what happened with Qantas and the Commonwealth Bank. They allowed the Left to have their say; they allowed them to get it off their chest. And then they hopped onto the steamroller and drove right over the top of them—and went on with the sale.

I suppose history will repeat itself. In January the Left will have a bit of an opportunity to say a few things, to get a few things off their chests, and the Right will get onto the steamroller again and drive over the top of them. What I would like to know is just where Mrs Kernot will be on all of this. Will she be driving the steamroller? Or will she be with the Left drawing those lines in the sand?

We have had a front flip on privatisation by the Labor Party from the time that they were in government to the time they got to opposition. Now we have had a backflip by Labor, by the right wing in particular in respect of Telstra. Is it any wonder that members on the other side have to resort to the use of crutches these days?