Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

That is right. They did not know whether it was super or life insurance. We do not know; we have not had a chance to speak to the life insurance companies about this. Yet this government sees this as so damned urgent that it needs to ram the legislation through the House of Representatives today.

I came to this with goodwill. I understand this. If there is a consolidation process, I accept that. I am prepared to be reasonable on these things. Forget for a moment that this is $700 million they are desperately trying to find for their budget this year. I do despise this place being treated like a rubber stamp on any occasion—by the Liberal Party or the Labor Party. I actually do believe in this parliament. I despise the thought that we come down here and waste our breath; I really do. I love this chamber, I love this parliament, but it just riles me to the core when I see legislation being banged through without any justification for the urgency. Previously governments would say, 'We'll look at it in the Senate.' They are not even saying that. They are just saying, 'We need this through and we need it through now.'

Lost superannuation accounts of unidentifiable members with balances of less than $2,000 that have been inactive for 12 months will now have to go to the ATO. We do not know what the process is for someone claiming it back. We do not know if there is an obligation on superannuation companies to continue to chase people to say, 'We've got your money.' We do not know what the situation is.

Finally, schedule 5 to the bill amends the act to close the Companies and Unclaimed Moneys Special Account and establish new processes for the receipt and payment of unclaimed property. As I have stated before, this bill amends the Banking Act, the First Home Saver Accounts Act, the Life Insurance Act, the Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act, the ASIC Act and the Corporations Act, and we have less than 24 hours to deal with it. In fact, none of our colleagues have had the opportunity to consult with constituent members or to consult with stakeholders. We do not know what the implications are. This went to a committee that has not met and does not know when it is going to meet.

The coalition is going to oppose this process. It is going to oppose this bill. This is not the way to run the parliament. It is unacceptable, writ large, to treat us with this sort of contempt. Even if there is merit in this bill, we are going to oppose it simply because we do not know what the consequences of this legislation are, simply because the government has screwed up the budget and made a mess of the economy.

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