Original from The Australian, 16 Aug 05.

Australian Democrats leader Senator Lyn Allison today called on the Government to take the full privatisation of Telstra to a referendum.

"The bickering and pork barrelling within and between the Nationals and the Liberals over the sale of Telstra has taken the focus away from the key point - that the majority of Australians do not support the full sale of Telstra," Senator Allison said.

"The Nationals $3 billion package will only go a small way to assisting regional and rural customers, what about the hundreds and thousands of people living in metropolitan area who still can't access fast reliable broadband?

"The Government won the last election on interest rates, not on selling Telstra. All opinion polls and survey results indicate overwhelming public opposition to the sale."

Senator Allison said the fact is that the public understand that something as important to the social and economic future of this country as telecommunications should be kept in public ownership.

"All Australians want certainty that they will be able to access affordable start-of-the-art telecommunications, and they know that once Telstra is privatised, the focus will be on shareholder return and not on what is best for Australian consumers," Senator Allison said.

"There is no need to fund debt retirement, we already have lowest debt in OECD. There is no need to fund upfront future superannuation entitlements. They have been paid for out of revenue in the past and there is no compelling need to change this arrangement in the future.

"Recent key indicators such as increased fertility, low unemployment and people working longer suggest that revenue will continue to grow.

"The Government has failed to justify the sale, on competition, service, or financial grounds.

The Government needs to abandon ideology and step back and reassess what's in the national interest. Policy on the run is not in anyone's interest," Senator Allison concluded.