Teresa G, stirring stuff, you post... and quite right too in the Oz Great Unwashed's reaction to a QF selloff.
Except for one small, uncomfortable point. The money men wouldn't sell off (out?) the QF name, just the people working in it. It's been said by smarter people before me... Since '89 proved it could be done, (all too often) with the willing help of some staff, Plan 'A' has always been to progressively reduce QF to an ever smaller core, handing over as much as possible of its so-called 'non-core' operation to people on far reduced pay and working conditions, until one day, (not, I think, 6 months from now), they simply re-brand all those peripheral, non-core functions as QF, and hey presto!, the 'new, leaner, meaner QF' is born.
...and the Great Australian Unwashed will neither notice nor give a damn - unless the change involves higher ticket prices for them.