Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Today in the Senate there is a very important piece of legislation which will put in place ABIP and which will ensure, under some circumstances, a flow of finance to business. They are going to vote against it. They have opposed that tooth and nail and they have opposed the term funding guarantee tooth and nail. You could produce a very large box of statements from those that oppose the term funding guarantee. I know everybody in the gallery remembers the opposition coming in here day after day ripping the government apart because we put in place the bank guarantee—which has turned out to be spectacularly successful and one of the most beneficial measures that has been put in place in Australian history to support our financial system. It is also the case that there are difficulties for some sections of business in accessing finance even at the moment—I accept that—but it is not a function of anything other than the fact that the conditions in financial markets globally are very difficult.

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