David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance and Assistant Treasurer. As part of its competitiveness agenda, the government recently announced industry assistance of $188 million for five industries that the government considers to be promising. The government stated that this will assist businesses with winning strategies in these five industries. Can the minister explain the difference between funding winning businesses within promising industries and the discredited practice of picking winners? Can the minister outline the share of the economy that these five industries currently represent and explain whether the government wants or expects this share to increase? Finally, can the minister explain why spending $188 million of borrowed money on five industries is better than paying off $188 million of debt?