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Page 15 of STATIE-MENT BY TILE PRIME MINISTIEKR. E 110HN P J KEATING MP
IEWSON $ 8 BILLION SORT ON TELEC( M SALE
Today's report by Salon: in B~ rothers makes ccr dm likely proceeds from the
sale of'I'elecon o which the Coalitioi's entire funding package is hased would
be roughly half diat mininctcd by DXr lke% son.
Telecom sold as is would raise somewhere oftie order ofS10-12 billion. take
two years to prepare for sale, and three vean actually sell.
Telecom itself was advised this wvhen it souht infonnal dice as to its value
and saleability.
What this means is that the . iberals' Fjghjtbakpackage is massively unljifnded
and that Dr HIcvson could not pay for his pronises. There is at least an S8
billion discrepancy and shoritall in the amnount of monies availahle to him. This
means he cannot fund lii& g. ayIolo1. tAx bolitioni promise.
To raise even $ 12-13 hilli) i reqtiires reltcom to lbc sold as a commercial
entity, free of public cotistraints and comunniti vservice obligations.
This would involve, as Saloman Brothers niak: clear. ' radical restructuring" of
Telecom meaning layoll's of up to 15.000. ( Tclecom NZ laid off 4.000 last
week.) It would also nean commercial charging for telephone calls which can only
mean timed local calls.
It would mean that rural corusumrers wouild no onger be subsidised as to
connections, rentals and the phone bills thcy pay by the main capital cit) and
interstate trink network. 6623
Timing constraints on preparing Telecom for sale and managing its float means
that to all intents and purposes none of its value can be useiully included in the
Coalition's figuring.
Dr Hewson should iiniediately provide the dacumentation upon which his
billion figure is based and the advice he has received regarding the sale
timetable and scheduling.
Failure to do so leaves one with the obvious conclusion that the Telecom
billion in the Liberal's calculations is a hoax on the public of Australia and
represents the most dishonest fiscal sleight of hand in over a decade.
GRAFTON February 23, 1993
6624