Telstra break-up is punitive: BHP boss
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CANBERRA, Oct 22 AAP
October 22 2009, 8:53PM
The head of one of Australia's biggest companies has expressed his dismay at the federal government's plan to break up Telstra.
Don Argus, the chairman of mining giant BHP Billiton, said investors were being asked to make a sacrifice without reward.
"Well, I am a shareholder, and I would have to say to you that if someone takes assets out of my balance sheet and doesn't reward me for it with a premium, I have got to think hard about what are we trying to achieve," he told reporters in Melbourne.
Mr Argus, who also sits on the board of the nation's largest listed investment company, Australian Foundation Investment Co (AFIC), said many other Telstra shareholders probably thought the same as he did.
His comments came as draft laws to break up Telstra passed the lower house, with Labor using its numbers to defeat a coalition move to delay its reform plan.
The Australian Greens and independent senator Nick Xenophon have indicated they will not support the opposition move to delay a vote on Telstra's future.
Family First senator Steve Fielding is undecided on the issue, but he has expressed concern about what impact a Telstra break-up would have on the share price.
It appears unlikely the opposition will get the two extra votes it needs to delay the Senate vote on Telstra.
The coalition had wanted the vote delayed until early 2010, after an implementation study of the government's planned $43 billion national broadband network.
Labor wants Telstra's wholesale and retail businesses separated - either voluntarily or by force - to create a more level market for telecom services ahead of the national broadband rollout.
By Stephen Johnson and Xavier LaCanna
