Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to contribute to this debate this afternoon, concerned, as we on this side all are, about protecting consumer interests in relation to the farce that has become the Future of Financial Advice legislation and Senator Cormann's pause that he announced today to those regulations, which he suggested was for the purpose of more consultation. We would be very pleased if there were genuine consultation about this issue, because it simply is a fact that the proposals, as developed by former Minister Sinodinos—the draft regulations and the legislation—were issued with literally no consultation at all. They absolutely reflect, as Senator Whish-Wilson just said, the interests of the financial industry, not the consumer in any way, shape or form.

I was thinking, as I was listening to the debate, about the events around the collapse of Storm, Westpoint and Trio. I was a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services when the collapse occurred, and I was part of the investigation that that committee undertook.