Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Given that ratings agencies take account of contingent liabilities in their assessment of a national government’s credit risk, what impact will the government’s 100 per cent guarantee on bank wholesale funding have on the credit rating of the Commonwealth?

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

I thank the member for her question. Because it is a contingent liability it will be reported in MYEFO. It will be there in the statement of risk. It will be there for all to see. The rating agencies read those documents very closely. The statement of risk—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

This is a very serious matter and so it will be—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

That is why we are very serious about producing MYEFO; it is read very closely by organisations like rating agencies. That is why we take our responsibility to publish this document as soon as we possibly can. It will be recorded as a contingent liability in those documents and all of the documentation will be there to be seen.