Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I can indicate to the honourable senator the basis on which the Commonwealth approach this issue. The issue is clearly one within the province of either state or territory governments. It is their responsibility to deal with this issue. However, we were very mindful of the fact that the ACT government, being a relatively small government, did not have the financial wherewithal to easily obtain a loan of $1,000 million. To do so would have attracted a higher interest rate than that which the Commonwealth can command and also may well have had an adverse impact on its credit rating and therefore interest payments in relation to existing loans. So we as a Commonwealth have come to an agreement with the ACT to ensure that a loan facility, under the name of the Commonwealth, is made available at a cheaper interest rate, which will assist the ACT in this issue.