The privatisation of Telstra must be stopped or the costs that
regional and rural Australians are forced to bear to have communications will
rapidly become extortionate. (The sale of the Sydney Airport into private hands
and the massive and immediate fee increases is one example of this trend,
country bank closures whilst reaping record profits another.)

Telstra is a highly profitable Australian business with profits
over $1bill. and is still in the hands of the people to some extent via
government control. Some of the profits could be used to help fund rural and
remote area infrastructure - communications, health and education and so on. The
ongoing profits from Telstra must, absolutely must, stay in Australia for
the benefit of the Australian people, not be handed over to foreign
multinationals and their money-hungry boards. If Telstra is privatised its
ownership will, now or later, be put in foreign hands and be totally under
foreign control. This is traitorous, and puts Australia in the position of being
held to ransom by foreign powers sometime in the future.

Government guarantees and legislation are meaningless in the
longer term. Governments change and laws can be changed too. The present
government panders to the multinationals at every step. There are no
guarantees for people in the bush by way of the hollow promises of
politicians and legislative means. No government and no policy is permanent!
The desire to maximise profit will soon see maintenance curtailed and newer
technologies being denied to the bush. Breakdowns, like at Birdsville and the
present slow internet facilities will become the order of the day.

Telstra (although not perfect) provides modern communications
at comparatively low cost. This service as we now know it will cease within
weeks of privatisation and become massively more expensive and grossly inferior
by comparison. Future development and technologies will not be provided
unless there are huge profits to be had at your expense - Can you afford
that?

Private companies have no loyalty to anything but the 'bottom
line' - maximising profit. They will never by their own choice adequately fund
the comparatively high cost regional, rural and remote area communication
systems. Residential telephone services are currently subsidised by between $200
and $6,800 per year. Privateers will want to recover that. The best we can hope
for in the remote, rural and regional areas (regardless of hollow politician's
promises) is a fifth rate service. Perhaps you remember the promise -
"There will never ever, ever, be a GST."
- a hollow promise indeed if there ever was one!

Infrastructure will be allowed to degenerate as funding is cut
to the maintenance programmes in the interests of maximising profit. We have
examples of this in the collapse of banking services to country areas,
degeneration of the electricity distribution networks of Victoria which were
privatised by the Kennett government. A very backward step indeed! Beware of the
vested big business interests that, like wolves in sheeps clothing, are pushing
for Telstra to be privatised!

So you think Telstra's service is lacking now? - You haven't
seen a thing yet - if Telstra is privatised you had better buy up plenty of
matches for your smoke-signal fires!

Country people of the remote areas and other rural and regional people, as well as city people need to stand together to make their local National Party federal member cross the floor and vote against selling Telstra, and take any other action necessary in your area to.. ..

This leaflet is produced by a diverse group of people, mainly country people,
who are deeply affected by what is finally done with Telstra. We support keeping
Telstra in Australian hands for the benefit of Australians living and working in
Australia. You are encouraged to discuss and distribute this leaflet among
friends and aquaintances. To that purpose the leaflet may be copied and
distributed by any person or organisation sympathetic to our aims. Donations to
assist with producing more leaflets and comment about this leaflet are welcome.