Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Ferguson has beaten me to the punch. Is he actually in the loop? I would have thought the decent thing to say to the Senate was, ‘Yes, they are with the printer as we speak and they will be circulated in the chamber very soon.’ But we know how this government treats the Senate.

In relation to the amendments that have now been circulated, some substantial savings will be made. Is it anticipated that those savings will be spent in another area and, if so, in what area? Or are they simply to reduce the overall package by $2 billion, which is where I think it might be nearly up to. I think one lot of amendments will reduce it by $435 million and the other lot by $1.34 billion. Those are rough terms. Are those amounts going to be savings or transferred to another area?

My final question in relation to this legislation is this. We were told that the stimulus package, especially this immediate spend of $950 and $650 and the various variations, was needed immediately to support up to 90,000 jobs. Clearly, with less money being spent on this allegedly vital immediate stimulus, the number of jobs to be supported must now be revised downward, and considerably so. I would be interested to hear, therefore, the minister’s answer on the number of jobs that will now be supported by this package and whether the savings that we have been provided with in the amendments thus far are, in fact, going to be spent somewhere else. If the money is going to be spent somewhere else, is the minister going to share the secret with the Senate as to where that money is going to be spent?