Senator Barnaby Joyce said that the rejection by congress of the U.S. financial bailout to the tune of US$700b will have serious ramifications for Australia.

“The freeze of the commercial paper market will affect interest rates as banks become less likely to lend to one another. This will further reduce competition amongst banks to the detriment of consumers."

“As Australia's access to credit underpins so much of the capital value in our economy, it is essential that the impacts of the fallout are managed appropriately,” Senator Joyce said.

He said in the western suburbs of the eastern capitals, and other salary and wage earner mortgage belts, property is starting to lose value because of the market reliance on access to credit and one of the factors of this decline in value is the current international financial malaise. This in itself compounds the problem for banks that have extensive books relating to these areas.

“Australia finds itself at a crucial juncture where we will look to the Australian political executive to manage this problem on a domestic scale. In order to mitigate the impact on the Australian people our best economic hand must be played,” Senator Joyce said.

“The fallout in the U.S. will flow through to resources and have an impact on this crucial link to Australia’s prosperity.”

Senator Joyce said it is this point in time more than any other in recent history in which Mr Swan, Mr Bowen and Mr Rudd must prove their competency and ability.

“Australia’s prosperity is now linked to their management capabilities, so I hope that they have the capacity to prove themselves or the honesty to admit that they out of their depth."

"Australians don’t need a repeat of the Fuelwatch and Grocerywatch debacles which have done nothing to lower petrol and grocery prices. We need action to protect Australian consumers, and not endless “watching” from this Government".

Ends.