Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

The government recognises, as does the senator, the important and valuable role that cooperatives play within the Australian economy and in particular in relation to, I think, the senator's areas of interest in regional areas, particularly in the context of agriculture and banking services. I understand the senator may have previously raised some issues about industry assistance programs. Whilst I cannot give an indication about the eligibility of every industry assistance program that the government has, obviously the government is very conscious of the importance of ensuring that the design of these programs does not unreasonably exclude any particular business structure from eligibility.

In the context of the Treasury portfolio, in the 2011-12 budget the government did announce it would establish a regulator for the not-for-profit area, which is relevant to cooperatives: the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Whilst only tax-endorsed charities will be regulated by the commission, the bill does establish a regulatory framework that can be extended to all not-for-profit entities, including cooperatives, in the future. This is a process that has been underway for some time. I think Senator Stephens had some role in dealing with this previously.

The government has also, through its banking reforms, taken steps to facilitate the competitive power of Australia's mutual credit unions and building societies, including through the introduction of a guaranteed deposit symbol which informs consumers that the government guarantees deposits of up to $250,000 with any ADI. This allows mutual lenders to market themselves as mutual banks. I would note that the regulation of cooperatives is in large part the responsibility of state and territory government, but the Commonwealth has supported the progression of the cooperatives national law through the COAG Legislative and Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs. (Time expired)