John George is a 59 year old who lives in Melbourne, VIC, and has been a Telstra shareholder for 9+ years.
If I were Telstra’s CEO I would...The CEO is paid by the Company which is in turn owned by the investors and should work for the benefit of the company and endeavour to provide the best possible service to it's customers.
Should not be allowed to be intimidated or bullied by the Goverment / Regulator.
Work hard to convince the regulator that Telstra is a publicly listed company and not a Government dept. and if the Government wants to provide service such as the social security department it should not have privatised it.
In that situation it could have done whatever it wanted to do with it. Try to convince the Government that it cannot say that it wants competition, however, have different rules for different players.
If you asked me what I did, I'd say...Work full-time|Investor
I bought most of my Telstra shares in...T2
I bought Telstra shares because...I thought it was a good investment as I believed it was an Australian icon. I bought T1 and T2. The gain I made in T1, I lost in T2. Yet I invested in T3 as I believe in the fundamentals of the company.
My first successful investment was...In BHP. I fully agree with the analogy and ask the Government to butt out from strangling Telstra's progress. The Government should remember it's a private company and they have made a lot of money out of it.
The best investment I ever made was...Probably investing in CBA.
What I learned from my worst investment decision...T2 was one of the worst. The Government should understand that Telstra's privatisation was not a hand out to the public. A lot of ordinary people put their savings into it.
The best investment advice I’ve ever been given...I do my own research and seek advice from my broker. I have done well from my investment in Sun-Met.
How I use telecommunications now...Use Internet, mobile phone and land line, most of them Telstra products as a loyal shareholder.
How I see the future of telecommunications in Australia...Competition should be encouraged, however, in a level playing field. I still believe in Telstra's future, provided the regulator give it a fair go. I am a liberal but see some merit in Mr Rudd's plan