A bid would have to be north of $5.00, page-32

I dont have a problem with shorters myself, the short % is a known unsatisfied demand for shares, they have to buy sometime, and shorts are a good way of measuring how the bears see it. And volatility creates buying opportunities as well.

High shorts mean you have to try and understand what they are seeing, and reconsider your position. Its a good reality check.

One of the things IMO that the shorters are seeing is the relatively high level of amortisation below the line, which looks to me likely to increase as we connect more people to the NBN over the next few years, and stay high for many years after that.

The underlying earnings makes it look like a good PE, but its nothing special when looking at PE from a statutory pov.