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

Senator Fielding, I am sorry—I have in my mind some further answers to Senator Joyce. I do accept, Senator Fielding, that increasing unemployment carries with it a significant economic and social impact on those individuals. I accept your bona fides, I accept your passion, I accept your interest. As you are aware, and the Treasurer, Mr Swan, has said this, there are discussions occurring. I am not party to those discussions. I am here to deal with the bills that we have in front of us and answer questions, and I have been doing that as they have been raised.

I do strongly support the package and I believe it is the appropriate way forward at this point in time. I do not believe we can wait and see just how bad things get and there is no absolute guarantee that it will work. As the Prime Minister has indicated, there is no absolute guarantee but it is incumbent upon us as a government to act. And I understand the heavy responsibilities on your shoulder to make a call about the package and whatever other discussions occur in respect to your meeting, or meetings, with the Treasurer. That is a heavy responsibility just as it is, obviously, for the Greens and Senator Xenophon.

To go to a couple of matters, I have some further information for Senator Joyce. The netting of debt: we do net off HECS, commercial property and the Future Fund. Netting off the Future Fund interest is logical. That has been the approach. I understand it is consistent with accounting standards. It is explained in MYEFO that net debt is the sum of the selected financial liabilities less the sum of the selected financial assets. It has been that way consistently for many years, certainly under the former government. Regarding the claim of no reference to the forward estimates, to the CPRS, it is in the estimates for revenue and expenses but it is not in the economic forecast as it is beyond the forecast horizon of 2009-10.

You and I, Senator Joyce, have been having an exchange about the impact of the stimulus package and the bailout package, as I interjected inappropriately; we are both right, Senator Joyce. My observations and the observations of financial commentators in respect to the—