Senator WEBBER (2:36 PM) —My question is to Senator Minchin, Minister for Finance and Administration. Can the minister confirm that UBS Australia, Caliburn Partnership, ABN AMRO Rothschild, Goldman Sachs JBWere, Gavin Anderson, DBM, Econtech, Freehills and Sparke Helmore have all been appointed by the government as consultants to the Telstra sale? Can the minister advise how much these lawyers and bankers have been paid by taxpayers to come up with the decision to dump the rest of Telstra into the Future Fund? Does the minister intend to ask these bankers and lawyers for a refund on behalf of the 1.6 million Telstra shareholders who will see their investment in Telstra damaged as a result of this anti-shareholder proposal?

Senator MINCHIN (Minister for Finance and Administration) —The answer to the first question is yes. The answer to the second question is that it is based on the utterly hypothetical notion that the government have already made a decision on what we will do with the shares which the Labor Party has forced us to retain in this company. We have not yet made a decision. I have been very public in saying that if we are to have a retail offer of our shares it would need to be given effect to in the October-November period of this year. We have to make a decision as to whether to offer those shares to the public and institutional investors, by way of a prospectus and full retail offer, imminently, within the next couple of weeks.

We have a range of options open to us if we are not in a position to make a retail offer. One of the options which is open to us and on which we have not yet made a decision is that part or all of those shares could be placed in the hands of the Future Fund. One of the great initiatives of the government, I might say, is the establishment of the Future Fund, which we will protect from the ravages of the Labor Party for as long as we can. Of course, it is Labor Party policy to ravage and raid the Future Fund as a slush fund. That is your policy.

This is what I do not get about the Labor Party’s position: you say that you do not want us to sell any shares, but you do not want us to put them in the Future Fund. What is the difference? If the Labor Party has a policy, it is apparently that the government has the shares. That is an overhang. The issue with the Future Fund is the assertion that there would be a share overhang in the hands of the Future Fund. There is a share overhang now, which the Labor Party does not seem to understand, and that is because the government has been forced by this lot to continue to own 50 per cent of the shares. It has been only some eight months that we have had the authority from the parliament to dispose of the remainder of our shares.

I have said at all times that the only opportunity, the window, for a retail offer is in the August to December period of any year, after the financial results are available. We are now in that position and we are approaching a point at which we will have to make a decision. We will make a sensible decision in the interests of the shareholders, the country and the company.

Senator WEBBER —Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Why should taxpayers have to line the pockets of all of those highly paid consultants, whose only advice to the government has been to dump the rest of Telstra into the Future Fund? If the minister cannot advise the Senate now, will he at least take on notice how much was paid in commission to all those highly paid bankers and lawyers so that the Telstra shareholders and the people of Australia can know how much it cost?

Senator MINCHIN (Minister for Finance and Administration) —Those advisers have been engaged by the government to assist us in the conduct of a retail share offer, should we decide to do so. It would be one of the biggest retail offers ever made by a government around the world. We hired those advisers just like the Labor Party hired a whole phalanx of advisers on how to sell the Commonwealth Bank and Qantas. This is the hypocrisy of the Labor Party: it did the right thing when it was in government by selling the Commonwealth Bank and Qantas, but now it attacks us.

Senator Chris Evans —Mr President, I rise on a point of order which goes to relevance. The minister has been given about four chances today to answer questions on these issues and his answer has always been: ‘It’s all the old Labor government’s fault.’ The question went to how much the government paid in commission to those companies. The minister has made no attempt to answer the question. He has been asked twice now. I ask you to draw his attention to the question.

The PRESIDENT —I hear your point of order.

Honourable senators interjecting—

The PRESIDENT —Order! Perhaps if there were a bit more quiet in the place the minister could give more precise answers.

Senator MINCHIN —Of course we paid the advisers, just like the Labor Party paid advisers to advise on the sale of the Commonwealth Bank and Qantas. All those figures will be revealed in due course, and appropriately, once we have completed the process.