The reason people buy before a consolidation is because (And CLZ...

The reason people buy before a consolidation is because (And CLZ has proved time and again to be the exception) when the shares are consolidated you assume the market capital will remain the same and that will be reflected in the new share price.
Less shares on issue is attractive to fund managers and serious investors that usually won’t invest in any share less than 20c.
New investors may be buying hoping that a consolidation makes CLZ more attractive to these fund managers and push the price up after consolidation.
However, CLZs current market capital is only as high as it is because the market trading platform doesn’t go to more decimal places so you are right, there will be enormous downward pressure to reflect true value (almost worthless) after consolidation.