Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I wanted to make some comments in response to Senator Sherry because he did open up on some issues about debt. I was referring, of course, to peak debt, a maximum figure, the gross debt figure that we finally got out of the Treasurer at a media interview in Adelaide, if my memory serves me correctly. My point was that it is unlikely in the current circumstances that it will only be $315 billion gross debt because we know that some very significant cost and debt simply was not included in the budget. I refer of course to the $43 billion broadband rollout, the farcical broadband plan, that certainly is not in the budget. It is on some sort of never-never, with the hope that some private sector investment will magically drop through the ceiling—but it will require the government to guarantee it; there is no doubt about that. We voted against Ruddbank yesterday, because it would have also potentially risked another $26 billion debt to the taxpayer.

I did not seek to make this point; Senator Sherry raised the matter. I will also say that, yes, there has been a collapse of revenue but if the Labor government thinks it can get away with the charade that they have not done anything about increasing debt, that will not wash. There is $124 billion of new spending—$124 billion in new spending since this Labor government hit the treasury bench. It is not a bad figure, is it? That is about two-thirds of the net debt in the budget of $188 billion—and that we now know is more in the order of the $203 billion, which I think is the figure we finally got out of the Treasurer, although he had great trouble saying the ‘billion’ word.

I do not appreciate being lectured about debt just because we wish to have some transparency in relation to who are the investors in this country. It is a reasonable proposition being put forward by the opposition, and we think it is entirely reasonable to have the information. If nominees own all these bonds and they are all in other countries, the Caymans and whatever other countries might be tax havens, it is important that Australian taxpayers know that. I do not believe anybody knows at this stage—somebody might, though I do not believe Senator Sherry knows; I certainly do not know—who are the beneficial owners of these investments, but I would like to know at least if they are all nominees and they are all in tax havens. I think it is a relevant piece of information. I will not go on at tedious length, and I am not going to continue to make political points about this because I do not think it is called for in this debate. It is a reasonable amendment, and I am grateful for the support of the Greens and Senator Xenophon for its passage.