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

Senator McGauran interjects again. For Senator McGauran—through you, Madam Acting Deputy President—we have seen the collapse of some 30 banks. I do not know what has happened to Citibank; they are in the process of being bailed out. Around the world, some 30 banks have been nationalised, force-merged and bailed out, principally in the US and Europe. No banks collapsed in Australia. For students of economic history, it was not the collapse of the equities market in the 1920s—the great crash of 1929—that caused the world depression. It was the collapse of banks and the collapse in faith that business and individuals had in the banking system that led to the economic collapse. This government makes no apologies for acting decisively with our bank guarantee and wholesale guarantee. We make no apologies for that.