Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I think everybody should know that the independence of the Reserve Bank is critical to ensuring stable economic management, and everyone should know that if interest rates were to be re-regulated that would, amongst other things, restrict the flow of credit to Australian households and Australian businesses. The Secretary of Treasury commented in estimates that re-regulating interest rates would hit lower income earners harder because, obviously, banks would ration credit. This appears to be a point lost on the shadow Treasurer.

The shadow Treasurer seems to be heading headlong down a path towards re-regulation of interest rates, a path that he cannot even convince his own colleagues to support. It was quite extraordinary last week watching the member for Canning describing the shadow Treasurer’s proposal as a ‘lunatic fringe’ idea from the man who seeks to be Treasurer. I see that Mr Turnbull has also tried to distance himself from this rather extraordinary proposition— (Time expired)