Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Rice, I will have to agree to disagree with the intonation of your response. The eligibility criteria for loans and financial assistance are matters over which the executive arm of government currently has control, and it's the opinion and belief of government that it should retain control. The potential impact on the budget is quite considerable, and obviously the executive of government has a responsibility for budgetary control. Therefore, we absolutely believe that it's appropriate that this remains in the control of executive government.