Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

The home insulation scheme—I accept the figure that the senator has given of approximately $4 billion is correct—is an important part of the government’s overall stimulus package. As I have told the Senate on many occasions, the stimulus package has been very necessary, given the disastrous financial and economic circumstances that the world faced last year. It is getting better this year, in many countries, but there is still a long way to go, there are still a lot of economic difficulties. We make no apologies for our stimulus package, and that was an important element of it. The stimulus package, part of which you referred to, has cushioned the Australian economy during the very difficult financial and economic times.