Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

They keep asking the question why and I am happy to keep explaining it to them. As I have been saying, increased borrowing to fund the temporary deficit will impose a short-term cost on the budget. On current projections net interest payments are forecast to rise to $2.6 billion. That is 0.2 per cent of GDP in 2011-12. As the IMF has said, the consequences of inaction will be devastating. While the fiscal cost to some countries will be large in the short run, the alternative of providing no fiscal stimulus or financial sector support would be extremely costly in terms of lost output. The human cost of the opposition’s plan—their inaction—is too bad to contemplate. (Time expired)