Readers may recall the Abbott government hopping into the Australian National University for divesting in resources company Santos in August 2014. The then-prime minister himself, Tony Abbott, described ANU’s decision as “stupid”, while other ministers like Jamie Briggs, Christopher Pyne and Joe Hockey all attacked the university. And the Financial Review joined in, running a nasty little campaign against the university over its decision. So if ANU had followed all that expert political and media advice and retained its investment in Santos, how would it have fared? Since Abbott’s “stupid” remark, Santos’s share price has fallen over 72%. And this morning, the company announced a whopping $2.7 billion loss as it struggles with a collapse in oil prices, prompting another slide in its share price. Spare a thought for far-right Tasmanian Liberal MP Andrew Nikolic —  Nikolic has been enthusiastically buying Santos shares for a couple of years now as the share price has fallen ever further. Maybe if Nikolic gets his long-held wish for Iran to be attacked by the West, oil prices will soar again and lift Santos back to profitability?

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