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

On the issue of the date by which the up to $200 billion is to be drawn down, I cannot indicate to you by what precise date that will occur, if it does occur—and note that I say ‘up to $200 billion’. I do not believe anyone, either in Treasury or anywhere else in the private sector as of today, could give you a date. I do not have any advice from Treasury on the impact of government borrowing and the consequent impact on the costs of private borrowing. I suggest it would be an interesting discussion to have at Senate estimates with the Treasury economists as to what the impact, if any, may be. I am not an economist, but it is not simply that the government carries out borrowings and then there is automatically a similar impact on the cost of private borrowing—I suspect that there are a range of different economic factors to take into consideration. I would be interested in listening to that discussion at estimates with Treasury officials, but I am not in a position to have that discussion here and now. I have often heard the saying that there are as many different economic views in the world as there are economists. I suspect there are different answers to the question you pose. I do not have any information from the officials but, as I say, I suspect there would be differing views as to the level of impact of interest rates in the private sector as a consequence of the bond. I cannot provide you with an update or any sort of defined, detailed view, if in fact there is one, in this committee stage.