Senate debates

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

Appropriation (Nation Building and Jobs) Bill (No. 1) 2008-2009; Appropriation (Nation Building and Jobs) Bill (No. 2) 2008-2009; Household Stimulus Package Bill 2009; Tax Bonus for Working Australians Bill 2009; Tax Bonus for Working Australians (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2009; Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Amendment Bill 2009

In Committee

11:49 am

Photo of Annette HurleyAnnette Hurley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have confirmation from across the chamber that the opposition believe it is too large, and I have some evidence to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration from Mr Saul Eslake, an economist who has been quoted by government members. He said during that evidence:

The measures proposed by the government at the beginning of this month amount to about 3½ per cent of one year’s GDP … and are thus broadly commensurate with those envisaged on average in other countries.

He later said:

The budget deficits envisaged in the Updated Economic and Fiscal Outlook are … not excessive by historical or international standards. The government forecast the deficit to peak at 2.9 per of GDP in 2009-10. That is below peaks during previous recessions of 4.1 per cent in 1992-93 and 3.3 per cent of GDP in 1984-85. They are a lot lower than the OECD’s most recent forecast of OECD area budget deficits peaking at 4.1 per cent of GDP in 2010 …

So it is difficult for the opposition to claim, firstly, that this stimulus package is not needed and, secondly, that it is excessive. As in many other occupations, I think you will be able to dredge up economists who disagree with the prevailing orthodoxy, but it is very clear that the prevailing orthodoxy is that we do need this stimulus package urgently to protect our jobs, to protect our businesses and to protect our economy; and, secondly, that the fiscal stimulus package proposed by the Rudd government is not excessive either by world terms or by Australian terms based on past recessions.

That is very clear. The opposition feel it suits them politically to refute those kinds of observations, but it does not assist the country to have the opposition hold up these bills, because it is important that they be implemented, and implemented as quickly as possible. As many, many senators have talked about, it is important that these measures are timely. For the sake of our economy, we need to get things going very quickly. We need a stimulus package whose effects will be felt within a very short time frame in order to have the economy respond in the right way.

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