Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

About 19,000 people—that they are not disadvantaged by this legislation. That would be a dreadful unintended consequence. That would be a cruel unintended consequence. Once again, I put on record that it is absolutely critical that this group of consumers is considered in the passing of this legislation. If they are not, it makes a mockery of the reason why we are supporting this bill, and if they are not, then it really does add another dreadful mark to a sorry history.

Like I have said, people have invested in good faith for the absolute right reason, and that is not to burden their families with the expense of a funeral. They have invested in these funds because they know the death rates of Aboriginal people and the ages of Aboriginal people in this country. We're not talking about statistics here; we're talking about real people and real families. Once again, I urge the government to make sure that the consideration in the implementation very much considers appropriately the group of people I'm speaking about.

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