Editing Telstra (section)

===Privatisation===
Beginning in 1997 and finalising in 2011, the [[Government of Australia|Federal Government]] began to privatise the corporation. The first three stages was initiated by the [[Howard government]]: the first, informally known as "T1" (with shares priced at $3.30), occurred in 1997. "T2" ($7.40) followed in 1999; "T3" ($3.60) in 2006.<ref name="Telstra Story"/><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|last=Budde|first=Paul|title=Australia – Privatisation of Telstra|url=http://www.budde.com.au/Research/Australia-Privatisation-of-Telstra.html|work=BuddeComm|publisher=Paul Budde Communication|access-date=3 December 2013|date=13 March 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207045211/http://www.budde.com.au/Research/Australia-Privatisation-of-Telstra.html|archive-date=7 December 2013}}</ref>
In '''T1''', the government sold one third of its shares in Telstra for $14 billion and publicly listed the company on the [[Australian Securities Exchange]].<ref name="autogenerated1"/> In 1998, a further 16% of Telstra shares were sold to the public, leaving the Australian government with 51% ownership. In 2006, '''T3''' was announced by the government and was the largest of the three public releases, reducing the government's ownership of Telstra to 17%.<ref>{{cite news|title=Telstra share slump may force delay|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/telstra-share-slump-may-force-delay/2005/08/17/1123958124821.html|access-date=3 December 2013|newspaper=[[The Age]]|date=15 August 2005|author=Christian Catalano|author2=Michelle Grattan|author3=Michael Gordon|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729150713/http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/telstra-share-slump-may-force-delay/2005/08/17/1123958124821.html|archive-date=29 July 2013}}</ref> The 17% remainder of Telstra was placed in the [[Future Fund]], a sovereign wealth fund established mainly to meet future liabilities for payment of [[superannuation]] to retired federal [[public servants]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Australian Future Fund|url=http://www.futurefund.gov.au/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119023122/http://www.futurefund.gov.au/|archive-date=19 January 2016|access-date=23 December 2008}}</ref> In 2009, the Future Fund sold off another $2.4&nbsp;billion worth of shares, reducing the government's stake in Telstra to 10.9%.<ref>{{cite news|title=Future Fund dumps $2.4 billion of Telstra shares|url=http://www.itnews.com.au/News/153600,future-fund-dumps-24-billion-of-telstra-shares.aspx|access-date=3 December 2013|newspaper=iTnews.com.au|date=21 August 2009|author=Munir Kotadia|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206135824/http://www.itnews.com.au/News/153600,future-fund-dumps-24-billion-of-telstra-shares.aspx|archive-date=6 December 2013}}</ref> In August 2011, under the [[Gillard government]], the Future Fund sold its remaining "[[Overweight (stock market)|above market weight]]" Telstra shares, reducing its holding to 0.8% of the shares, effectively completing Telstra's privatisation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Future Fund completes portfolio rebalancing and achieves market weight in Telstra|url=http://www.futurefund.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/4572/Future_Fund_achieves_market_weight_in_Telstra.pdf|work=[[Future Fund]]|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=3 December 2013|date=15 August 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140127152231/http://www.futurefund.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/4572/Future_Fund_achieves_market_weight_in_Telstra.pdf|archive-date=27 January 2014}}</ref>

With more than one million shareholders, Telstra is currently the most widely held ASX-listed company.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/telstra-far-from-marginal-to-labors-nbn-plans-20100428-tskq.html|title=Telstra far from marginal to Labor's NBN plans|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=28 April 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150829233800/http://www.smh.com.au/business/telstra-far-from-marginal-to-labors-nbn-plans-20100428-tskq.html|archive-date=29 August 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Telstra pay phone in the Melbourne CBD (1).jpg|thumb|right|Telstra phone booths showing the current colour scheme, replacing the former orange logo with shades of green and blue. ]]