House debates Questions without Notice

Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry

Monday, 29 July 2019 House of Representatives

Jim Chalmers

Jim Chalmers Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer

2:21 pm

My question is to the Treasurer. How many of the 76 recommendations from the banking royal commission has the government fully implemented?

Josh Frydenberg

Josh Frydenberg Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer

I can inform the House that we've already legislated recommendation 3.6, which will prohibit superannuation funds inducing employees. We've already recommended and legislated through this parliament recommendation 3.7, which introduces civil penalties for trustees and directors of super funds. We've already introduced and passed regulations which extend AFCA's remit for financial complaints back to 2008. We've already passed regulations to ensure greater cooperation with AFCA, and legislated product intervention powers about the design and the distribution obligations for ASIC. We've agreed with the states and territories to develop a national approach to farm debt mediation. We announced that Graeme Samuel would chair a review into APRA, and we've actually accepted the recommendations from that APRA review.

We've announced in the budget $649 million of extra funding for ASIC and APRA, which is a 25 to 30 per cent increase. We're extending the jurisdiction of the Federal Court to include a criminal jurisdiction. And the list goes on. We have—

Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Josh Frydenberg

Josh Frydenberg Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer

There were 76 recommendations. The other side are a complete joke. They took 22 days to respond. We took four days, and we're getting on with the job of legislating and passing regulations and doing it carefully, so that no mistakes are made. This is a critically important area. When it comes to an organisation like APRA, in Labor's last year in office, funding actually decreased, rather than increasing. Funding under us is now at a record level. We have passed legislation and passed regulations, and we are getting on with the job of protecting Australian consumers.

Tony Smith

Tony Smith Speaker

This looks dangerous! The member for Rankin is seeking to table a document?

Jim Chalmers

Jim Chalmers Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer

I ask that the Treasurer table the list that goes on and on and on.