Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I note the shadow Treasurer at the table, and I am sure he is familiar with the figures that the government of Australia now has to finance because of the interest bill on their debt. It is $13½ billion a year. To put that in context, that is $570 for every man, woman and child in this country—and that is just for the interest bill that has to be paid. For every family of four the annual interest bill that we must now pay is $2,280.

We can break it down over periods of time. Every month it is $1.125 billion. That is $1,125 million that flow out the door. That is the obligation that we have in interest just in one month. In a week it is $260 million. In a day, today, it is $37 million. On this day, this government will need to find $37 million just to pay the interest. In the next hour it is $1.5 million. That is the obligation that this nation has—to pay interest on a debt that this previous Labor government left.

Why is there some urgency about this? The money that is borrowed to pay for the six years of losses during the Labor government is done through the sale of government bonds. Whether through good luck or good management, we are currently in a period where global interest rates are at record lows. We have been able to borrow most of that money at around 3.5 per cent. The problem is that, even though we have that interest obligation, if we do not only address the interest but pay that debt down, who knows where interest rates will be in 10 years time, when a lot of these government bonds fall due and we have to refinance them. It may not be 3.35 per cent. We know that it could be double. And therefore, rather than having that $500 cost for every man, woman and child, it could be double. That is the urgency; that is the problem. That is why we must repeal red tape and free the hands of our entrepreneurs. I commend this bill to the House.

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