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

We are both right. I am explaining why we are both right. I observed, based on the financial commentary after the release of the bailout package, that the markets in the United States dropped between three and four per cent. It is fact. Senator Joyce updated his observations and made his comments about the stimulus package that was passed, as I understand it, a few hours ago. And you are correct; the markets reacted adversely to that. I was not aware of that, Senator Joyce. I made my comments in good faith based on what I had seen on the wires and CNN and BBC World Service this morning as a consequence of the claimed lack of details on the bailout package.

Senator Macdonald may have some more points on Storm Financial but he did indicate he believed there was a $600 billion to $700 billion liability in respect to the bank guarantee. That is not correct. MYEFO stated that the expected liability is remote and unquantifiable. As I said, I have drawn a clear distinction between a guarantee and a bailout package, which has been occurring in many other economies around the world. Will a part of the $42 billion go to the big four banks? No, it will not. This is not a bailout package where we are passing, as has occurred in many other countries, tens or hundreds of millions of dollars over to financial institutions. That is not the purpose of this package; that is not what is occurring. It is a major package to provide a stimulus to the Australian economy to minimise the impact of the spreading financial and economic crisis. We have gone out of our way to direct this package to low- and middle-income earners and a range of short- to medium-term projects that we believe are appropriate to underpin the Australian economy given the serious and very rapidly developing world financial and economic circumstances.