Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I say this very clearly: there is no excuse whatsoever for any bank not to pass on any rate cut to Australian families in full. I would hope that we could actually have a unity ticket on this point from the opposition, but I doubt that we will. We know that it is this government that has introduced reforms to increase competition in the banking sector, with major banks moving to take customers from their competitors through offering a better deal to customers. These are important reforms in which the government has engaged.

But I again return to the issue of fiscal discipline. We know from my counterpart, Mr Robb, that those opposite have a $70 billion black hole. Unless and until the opposition detail to the Australian people how they will fill it, Australians will know that the opposition is quite prepared to put upward pressure on interest rates. (Time expired)