Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer.

Government Members:

Government members—Oh!

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would ask a question of the Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy, but he has as much power as a two-stroke lawnmower, so I will direct my question to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer—

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The House will come to order. Those on my right expressing disappointment about other things should be quiet.

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer the Treasurer to the comments earlier this year by the Reserve Bank governor when he said, ‘In the case of business loan rates, frankly, they have not been under quite the same public pressure on those rates.’ Will the Treasurer explain why the Labor government has failed to put pressure on the banks to bring down small business loan rates?

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

I thank the member for his question. It is an important question, because it has been the case during the global recession that credit has been difficult in some areas of the economy as a consequence of the global recession. That is certainly the case in areas of small business.

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Because of your bungled bank guarantee.

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

The bank guarantee that they opposed was the lifeline of the Australian economy.

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We did not oppose it.

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

You sure have a funny way of supporting it. You are in this House day after day, week after week, opposing the guarantee, which was absolutely critical to ensuring the flow of credit to the Australian economy. But it is the case that some small businesses are finding it tough to get credit. I happen to have the view that the banks could do a better job, and they should. So we might agree on one thing: the banks ought to be doing a bit better, particularly in some areas of small business. This is why the government outlined a proposal to issue up to a further $8 billion of residential mortgage backed securities to see if we can get more of those securities supporting small businesses. We think that is a good idea. We think it is a worthy idea. I thought it might have been one that the member opposite might have supported, but apparently not.

So the government certainly is concerned about the flow of credit to small business. It is the case that things are still difficult out there for many people, which is why I cannot understand why those opposite want to be pulling stimulus out holus bolus and sending small businesses to the wall. There is a fundamental contradiction in their attitude. They go out publicly, and come into this House, saying that we should withdraw the stimulus and send thousands of small businesses and tradies to the wall. That is the proposition they put on the one hand; then the member comes in here and says he is sympathetic to the concerns of small business. Small businesses know how important the stimulus package has been for keeping their doors open—for keeping themselves and their employees employed. That has been very important but we think there is more to be done in this area, and to that extent I might agree with him. I also commiserate with him on the fact that in terms of the Gold Coast’s 100 most powerful people he has fallen from 46th to 93rd.