Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

It's a very valid point to be making, considering this MPI and the serious academic discussion about the end of the monetary policy era, about what is the role of the government in our lives. Senator Bernardi, if the Greens are a party for having government play a big role in our lives and that makes us socialists, then I plead guilty. And I'd just like to thank One Nation for bringing this forward. People are surprised that One Nation have actually got a lot of socialist policies themselves. They're probably more aptly described as national socialists than as direct socialists. Nevertheless, we share so much in common when it comes to the role of government in our lives.

We're looking at a historic low cash rate of 0.75 per cent. We've got low productivity, we've got low wages growth, we've got an upturn in lending for housing and a downturn in lending for business. We had an excellent presentation today from one of the country's experts on monetary policy and where we go to from here, Dr Josh Ryan-Collins. I recommend his writings to anyone who is interested in this debate.

I seek leave to continue my remarks. Given there's such a large audience here for Senator Bernardi, I don't want to take any more time.

Leave granted; debate interrupted.