9th Dec 2013, 5:54 PM – Representatives Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Amendment Bill 2013 - Consideration of Senate Message - Put the question re: removing the debt limit

The majority voted in favour a motion to put the question, which means that it can now be voted on.

The question was that the further Greens amendments be agreed to.(A copy of the Greens amendments is available here. ) This question was subsequently voted on and agreed to without division, which means that the House agrees with the Senate that the debt limit should be removed altogether.

Background to Bill

On 22 October 2013, the Abbott Government announced that it will raise the debt ceiling from $300 billion to $500 billion.(Read more about this in the media here. ) This was following the August 2013 Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook which reported that the Treasurer's standing borrowing authority would reach the $300 billion limit by December 2013.

The purpose of the increase to the debt ceiling is to "provide stability and certainty to financial markets about the Government's ability to issue sufficient debt to manage its budget".(See the explanatory memorandum (106 KB). More about the bill, including its bills digest, is available here.)