❓ Questioning the government's decision to price AlintaGas shares lower than recommended, alleging taxpayer losses and unfair allocation to retail investors. The Minister defends the decision, citing wide ownership and overall success of the privatisation.
AnsweredQoN 263Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Why did the Government decide to price AlintaGas shares in the public issue at 40¢ a share less than the figure recommended by Deutsche Bank, which was itself 10¢ a share less than the actual float price? (2) Have the Government’s actions not caused the loss of more than $26m of taxpayers’ money? (3) Has the money which could have paid for hospital equipment and new schools not now gone in so-called stag profits for investors? (4) Why were ordinary retail investors restricted to ownership of 360 or 450 discounted shares when clients of the stockbroking firms handling the float each got firm allocations of up to 10 000 of these very profitable shares? Some of those people would have made a profit of $5 000 today, courtesy of the minister's discounting. Mr BARNETT
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(4) What a miserable bunch! The Opposition is so miserable! It is extraordinary. Do I need to repeat it again? The privatisation has provided $971m, or $615m net, to the State. Some 112 000 people have bought shares. They have made a profit on paper. Great! I am very pleased for those 112 000 Western Australians. All the Opposition has done is criticise. On the weekend it tried to say that the call centre would go to the east coast. Absolute rubbish! All the Opposition does is criticise. It hates the fact that the people of Western Australia liked the privatisation; that is reflected by the 112 000 people who bought shares. They loved it. The point of the question was to do with the allocation and the setting of price. All the analyses were done, and at the end of the day they were matters of judgment. I accept full responsibility for all matters of judgment. It is true that Deutsche Bank made a recommendation on price. The brokers made a different recommendation. I, in consultation with the steering committee, assessed that, and we made a judgment of $2.25, because we wanted wide ownership; we wanted the investors to make a return on that investment; and we were guaranteed that we would achieve $970m-odd. A judgment was made, and it was a good judgment, as reflected by the float today. With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
(2) Have the Government’s actions not caused the loss of more than $26m of taxpayers’ money? (3) Has the money which could have paid for hospital equipment and new schools not now gone in so-called stag profits for investors? (4) Why were ordinary retail investors restricted to ownership of 360 or 450 discounted shares when clients of the stockbroking firms handling the float each got firm allocations of up to 10 000 of these very profitable shares? Some of those people would have made a profit of $5 000 today, courtesy of the minister's discounting. Mr BARNETT replied: (1)-(4) What a miserable bunch! The Opposition is so miserable! It is extraordinary. Do I need to repeat it again? The privatisation has provided $971m, or $615m net, to the State. Some 112 000 people have bought shares. They have made a profit on paper. Great! I am very pleased for those 112 000 Western Australians. All the Opposition has done is criticise. On the weekend it tried to say that the call centre would go to the east coast. Absolute rubbish! All the Opposition does is criticise. It hates the fact that the people of Western Australia liked the privatisation; that is reflected by the 112 000 people who bought shares. They loved it. The point of the question was to do with the allocation and the setting of price. All the analyses were done, and at the end of the day they were matters of judgment. I accept full responsibility for all matters of judgment. It is true that Deutsche Bank made a recommendation on price. The brokers made a different recommendation. I, in consultation with the steering committee, assessed that, and we made a judgment of $2.25, because we wanted wide ownership; we wanted the investors to make a return on that investment; and we were guaranteed that we would achieve $970m-odd. A judgment was made, and it was a good judgment, as reflected by the float today. With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
(3) Has the money which could have paid for hospital equipment and new schools not now gone in so-called stag profits for investors? (4) Why were ordinary retail investors restricted to ownership of 360 or 450 discounted shares when clients of the stockbroking firms handling the float each got firm allocations of up to 10 000 of these very profitable shares? Some of those people would have made a profit of $5 000 today, courtesy of the minister's discounting. Mr BARNETT replied: (1)-(4) What a miserable bunch! The Opposition is so miserable! It is extraordinary. Do I need to repeat it again? The privatisation has provided $971m, or $615m net, to the State. Some 112 000 people have bought shares. They have made a profit on paper. Great! I am very pleased for those 112 000 Western Australians. All the Opposition has done is criticise. On the weekend it tried to say that the call centre would go to the east coast. Absolute rubbish! All the Opposition does is criticise. It hates the fact that the people of Western Australia liked the privatisation; that is reflected by the 112 000 people who bought shares. They loved it. The point of the question was to do with the allocation and the setting of price. All the analyses were done, and at the end of the day they were matters of judgment. I accept full responsibility for all matters of judgment. It is true that Deutsche Bank made a recommendation on price. The brokers made a different recommendation. I, in consultation with the steering committee, assessed that, and we made a judgment of $2.25, because we wanted wide ownership; we wanted the investors to make a return on that investment; and we were guaranteed that we would achieve $970m-odd. A judgment was made, and it was a good judgment, as reflected by the float today. With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
(4) Why were ordinary retail investors restricted to ownership of 360 or 450 discounted shares when clients of the stockbroking firms handling the float each got firm allocations of up to 10 000 of these very profitable shares? Some of those people would have made a profit of $5 000 today, courtesy of the minister's discounting. Mr BARNETT replied: (1)-(4) What a miserable bunch! The Opposition is so miserable! It is extraordinary. Do I need to repeat it again? The privatisation has provided $971m, or $615m net, to the State. Some 112 000 people have bought shares. They have made a profit on paper. Great! I am very pleased for those 112 000 Western Australians. All the Opposition has done is criticise. On the weekend it tried to say that the call centre would go to the east coast. Absolute rubbish! All the Opposition does is criticise. It hates the fact that the people of Western Australia liked the privatisation; that is reflected by the 112 000 people who bought shares. They loved it. The point of the question was to do with the allocation and the setting of price. All the analyses were done, and at the end of the day they were matters of judgment. I accept full responsibility for all matters of judgment. It is true that Deutsche Bank made a recommendation on price. The brokers made a different recommendation. I, in consultation with the steering committee, assessed that, and we made a judgment of $2.25, because we wanted wide ownership; we wanted the investors to make a return on that investment; and we were guaranteed that we would achieve $970m-odd. A judgment was made, and it was a good judgment, as reflected by the float today. With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
Mr BARNETT replied: (1)-(4) What a miserable bunch! The Opposition is so miserable! It is extraordinary. Do I need to repeat it again? The privatisation has provided $971m, or $615m net, to the State. Some 112 000 people have bought shares. They have made a profit on paper. Great! I am very pleased for those 112 000 Western Australians. All the Opposition has done is criticise. On the weekend it tried to say that the call centre would go to the east coast. Absolute rubbish! All the Opposition does is criticise. It hates the fact that the people of Western Australia liked the privatisation; that is reflected by the 112 000 people who bought shares. They loved it. The point of the question was to do with the allocation and the setting of price. All the analyses were done, and at the end of the day they were matters of judgment. I accept full responsibility for all matters of judgment. It is true that Deutsche Bank made a recommendation on price. The brokers made a different recommendation. I, in consultation with the steering committee, assessed that, and we made a judgment of $2.25, because we wanted wide ownership; we wanted the investors to make a return on that investment; and we were guaranteed that we would achieve $970m-odd. A judgment was made, and it was a good judgment, as reflected by the float today. With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
(1)-(4) What a miserable bunch! The Opposition is so miserable! It is extraordinary. Do I need to repeat it again? The privatisation has provided $971m, or $615m net, to the State. Some 112 000 people have bought shares. They have made a profit on paper. Great! I am very pleased for those 112 000 Western Australians. All the Opposition has done is criticise. On the weekend it tried to say that the call centre would go to the east coast. Absolute rubbish! All the Opposition does is criticise. It hates the fact that the people of Western Australia liked the privatisation; that is reflected by the 112 000 people who bought shares. They loved it. The point of the question was to do with the allocation and the setting of price. All the analyses were done, and at the end of the day they were matters of judgment. I accept full responsibility for all matters of judgment. It is true that Deutsche Bank made a recommendation on price. The brokers made a different recommendation. I, in consultation with the steering committee, assessed that, and we made a judgment of $2.25, because we wanted wide ownership; we wanted the investors to make a return on that investment; and we were guaranteed that we would achieve $970m-odd. A judgment was made, and it was a good judgment, as reflected by the float today. With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
(2) Have the Government’s actions not caused the loss of more than $26m of taxpayers’ money? (3) Has the money which could have paid for hospital equipment and new schools not now gone in so-called stag profits for investors? (4) Why were ordinary retail investors restricted to ownership of 360 or 450 discounted shares when clients of the stockbroking firms handling the float each got firm allocations of up to 10 000 of these very profitable shares? Some of those people would have made a profit of $5 000 today, courtesy of the minister's discounting. Mr BARNETT replied: (1)-(4) What a miserable bunch! The Opposition is so miserable! It is extraordinary. Do I need to repeat it again? The privatisation has provided $971m, or $615m net, to the State. Some 112 000 people have bought shares. They have made a profit on paper. Great! I am very pleased for those 112 000 Western Australians. All the Opposition has done is criticise. On the weekend it tried to say that the call centre would go to the east coast. Absolute rubbish! All the Opposition does is criticise. It hates the fact that the people of Western Australia liked the privatisation; that is reflected by the 112 000 people who bought shares. They loved it. The point of the question was to do with the allocation and the setting of price. All the analyses were done, and at the end of the day they were matters of judgment. I accept full responsibility for all matters of judgment. It is true that Deutsche Bank made a recommendation on price. The brokers made a different recommendation. I, in consultation with the steering committee, assessed that, and we made a judgment of $2.25, because we wanted wide ownership; we wanted the investors to make a return on that investment; and we were guaranteed that we would achieve $970m-odd. A judgment was made, and it was a good judgment, as reflected by the float today. With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
(3) Has the money which could have paid for hospital equipment and new schools not now gone in so-called stag profits for investors? (4) Why were ordinary retail investors restricted to ownership of 360 or 450 discounted shares when clients of the stockbroking firms handling the float each got firm allocations of up to 10 000 of these very profitable shares? Some of those people would have made a profit of $5 000 today, courtesy of the minister's discounting. Mr BARNETT replied: (1)-(4) What a miserable bunch! The Opposition is so miserable! It is extraordinary. Do I need to repeat it again? The privatisation has provided $971m, or $615m net, to the State. Some 112 000 people have bought shares. They have made a profit on paper. Great! I am very pleased for those 112 000 Western Australians. All the Opposition has done is criticise. On the weekend it tried to say that the call centre would go to the east coast. Absolute rubbish! All the Opposition does is criticise. It hates the fact that the people of Western Australia liked the privatisation; that is reflected by the 112 000 people who bought shares. They loved it. The point of the question was to do with the allocation and the setting of price. All the analyses were done, and at the end of the day they were matters of judgment. I accept full responsibility for all matters of judgment. It is true that Deutsche Bank made a recommendation on price. The brokers made a different recommendation. I, in consultation with the steering committee, assessed that, and we made a judgment of $2.25, because we wanted wide ownership; we wanted the investors to make a return on that investment; and we were guaranteed that we would achieve $970m-odd. A judgment was made, and it was a good judgment, as reflected by the float today. With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
(4) Why were ordinary retail investors restricted to ownership of 360 or 450 discounted shares when clients of the stockbroking firms handling the float each got firm allocations of up to 10 000 of these very profitable shares? Some of those people would have made a profit of $5 000 today, courtesy of the minister's discounting. Mr BARNETT replied: (1)-(4) What a miserable bunch! The Opposition is so miserable! It is extraordinary. Do I need to repeat it again? The privatisation has provided $971m, or $615m net, to the State. Some 112 000 people have bought shares. They have made a profit on paper. Great! I am very pleased for those 112 000 Western Australians. All the Opposition has done is criticise. On the weekend it tried to say that the call centre would go to the east coast. Absolute rubbish! All the Opposition does is criticise. It hates the fact that the people of Western Australia liked the privatisation; that is reflected by the 112 000 people who bought shares. They loved it. The point of the question was to do with the allocation and the setting of price. All the analyses were done, and at the end of the day they were matters of judgment. I accept full responsibility for all matters of judgment. It is true that Deutsche Bank made a recommendation on price. The brokers made a different recommendation. I, in consultation with the steering committee, assessed that, and we made a judgment of $2.25, because we wanted wide ownership; we wanted the investors to make a return on that investment; and we were guaranteed that we would achieve $970m-odd. A judgment was made, and it was a good judgment, as reflected by the float today. With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
Mr BARNETT replied: (1)-(4) What a miserable bunch! The Opposition is so miserable! It is extraordinary. Do I need to repeat it again? The privatisation has provided $971m, or $615m net, to the State. Some 112 000 people have bought shares. They have made a profit on paper. Great! I am very pleased for those 112 000 Western Australians. All the Opposition has done is criticise. On the weekend it tried to say that the call centre would go to the east coast. Absolute rubbish! All the Opposition does is criticise. It hates the fact that the people of Western Australia liked the privatisation; that is reflected by the 112 000 people who bought shares. They loved it. The point of the question was to do with the allocation and the setting of price. All the analyses were done, and at the end of the day they were matters of judgment. I accept full responsibility for all matters of judgment. It is true that Deutsche Bank made a recommendation on price. The brokers made a different recommendation. I, in consultation with the steering committee, assessed that, and we made a judgment of $2.25, because we wanted wide ownership; we wanted the investors to make a return on that investment; and we were guaranteed that we would achieve $970m-odd. A judgment was made, and it was a good judgment, as reflected by the float today. With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
(1)-(4) What a miserable bunch! The Opposition is so miserable! It is extraordinary. Do I need to repeat it again? The privatisation has provided $971m, or $615m net, to the State. Some 112 000 people have bought shares. They have made a profit on paper. Great! I am very pleased for those 112 000 Western Australians. All the Opposition has done is criticise. On the weekend it tried to say that the call centre would go to the east coast. Absolute rubbish! All the Opposition does is criticise. It hates the fact that the people of Western Australia liked the privatisation; that is reflected by the 112 000 people who bought shares. They loved it. The point of the question was to do with the allocation and the setting of price. All the analyses were done, and at the end of the day they were matters of judgment. I accept full responsibility for all matters of judgment. It is true that Deutsche Bank made a recommendation on price. The brokers made a different recommendation. I, in consultation with the steering committee, assessed that, and we made a judgment of $2.25, because we wanted wide ownership; we wanted the investors to make a return on that investment; and we were guaranteed that we would achieve $970m-odd. A judgment was made, and it was a good judgment, as reflected by the float today. With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
With regard to the allocation through the brokers, this float has been a fantastic success, but there are risks in a privatisation. The privatisation was taking place at the time of the Olympics. It was very difficult to know how people would react to a float opportunity during the Olympics, a major distraction. It was also taking place at a time when the Telstra T2 stock had lost people about 30 per cent of their investment. It was very hard to read and judge what the investor mood would be. The criticism was also made at times that this was a relatively small float, and AlintaGas was too parochially a Western Australian company. It was not black and white, and judgments were made; and we will be judged by those judgments. However, I put it to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that at every step of the way the call was right: To have it as an integrated business; to have a cornerstone public float; to have maximum Western Australian ownership; to use Western Australian brokers to maximise Western Australian ownership; and to set the price and the allocation through the brokers. That was spot on. The average allocation through the brokers was about 3 000 shares. That is a good result for everyone. Everyone today has won, most of all the taxpayers of Western Australia.
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