Stuart Corner
Monday, 02 October 2006 13:31
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
Our prime minister, John Howard, has not survived a decade at the top the political tree without being good at keeping his cool but there are increasingly signs that his frustration with Telstra's management and board has now reached such a pitch that he's letting his emotions get the better of him.
Take the Cousins board nomination for example. Opinion is divided on the merits of having someone who is undoubtedly a strongly independent-minded individual with strong ties to the largest shareholder on the board at a time when that shareholder is supposed to be reducing its direct interest and influence. But few people seem to think that the bad-blood his nomination has created is doing anything at all for T3.
So why did Howard put him forward when he knew the strength of opposition among the current board? At least two respected commentators - Alan Kohler and Elizabeth Knight in the Sydney Morning Herald - have suggested that, not only did he know full well how much the board would dislike the move, but that, indeed was why he did it. To put it simply: vengeance.
Kohler concluded: “evidence suggests that it was just an angry whack - pure machismo from the prime minister designed to leave behind a dysfunctional board for Future Fund chairman David Murray and CEO Paul Costello when they inherit 30 percent of the company.” Knight commented: "Having endured that pain [Telstra's plunging share price under Sol Trujillo] Howard had two motives for upsetting the boardroom equilibrium and reasserting some control over Telstra on the eve of selling out. The first is revenge - it's human nature and easy to understand."
Now Howard seems to be showing a similar lack of judgement on another contentious issue: payphones. The Sunday Age this week had something of a scoop. It claimed to have been told by a Telstra whistleblower of a 'Stage Two' plan by Telstra to rip out 5000 public pay phones around schools, universities and hospitals in the lead-up to next year's federal election and it said the move was a component of "secret plans designed to take on the Howard Government."
