Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Let me say this: Senator Williams would be the first to defend those farmers who have borrowed against the equity of their property to keep their heads above water. The Australian government is borrowing money at the moment because we are in an income drought caused by the global financial crisis. A $210 billion fall in income—that is the sort of income drought that this government is facing. This government is prepared to invest in the Australian people to make sure that hundreds of thousands of people do not end up on the unemployment scrapheap, that families are able to pay their mortgages, that families are able to keep food on the table, that people are kept in jobs and that there is investment in our schools, which apparently Senator Williams does not support.