Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement) Share this | Hansard source

Following the contribution from the member for Moncrieff, I also rise to stand up for my constituents in Brisbane and speak on the Corporations Amendment (Future of Financial Advice) Bill 2011 and the Corporations Amendment (Further Future of Financial Advice Measures) Bill 2011. These bills are the latest exhibits in the 'how to totally destroy the process of reform' presentation being put on by the Gillard government. I have many financial services practices in my electorate that employ many thousands of people. Many of them are small and medium financial businesses. I have received an enormous amount of correspondence about these bills. Overwhelmingly, the feedback from the industry has been hugely critical of these bills. An email I got from Mr Brian Mallon, a financial planner in Ascot, says:

This bill, as currently drafted, will have a catastrophic impact on my business and that of many, small, independently owned, financial planning firms like mine, that cannot afford the additional and unnecessary administrative burden this legislation will demand and will place the cost of obtaining professional and objective advice from an independently owned adviser, out of reach of the average Australian family.

Another email from a planner in the CBD states:

After advising for 30 years can I say, the proposed reforms will remove financial planning advice away from ordinary Australians and make it unaffordable.

I can advise the House that to date I have not received one positive piece of correspondence supporting these bills—not a single, solitary positive letter supporting these bills.

Ms Hall interjecting—

The member opposite can argue with me all she likes, but the coalition believe in a strong and vibrant financial services industry—

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