Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law) Share this | Hansard source

As I have indicated, this strong budget surplus of $22 billion—which those opposite, the Liberal opposition, intend to try and wreck through their fiscal vandalism by reducing that surplus by over $6 billion—is very necessary to put downward pressure on inflation and interest rates, and we have seen a reduction in official rates today of 0.25 per cent. What we do need to remember is that today’s announcement by the independent Reserve Bank is very important and provides welcome relief to families struggling to pay their mortgage payments. The alternative course is the position taken by the ‘acting’ Leader of the Opposition, Mr Nelson, who yesterday screamed at the bank by arguing that he would direct the Reserve Bank to cut official interest rates by 50 basis points. But a journalist went on and asked him: ‘You’re the alternative Prime Minister. If you are Prime Minister, does that mean you will tell the Reserve Bank that you expect—’ (Time expired)