Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I completely reject the premise of that question. What we are focused on is the public interest. We are focused on making sure that consumers across Australia can have access to high-quality advice that they can trust and that is also affordable. As a result of the changes that Labor has introduced, the cost of advice has been going up and up and up. In Australia the cost of advice it is already comparatively high because we have got too much red tape in place. It is a matter of balance. It is a matter of making sure that we have got important consumer protection arrangements in place in a way that is appropriately efficient so that people across Australia saving for their retirement, managing their retirement and managing financial risks through life can have access to high-quality advice which is also affordable. Your changes put access to advice beyond the reach of too many Australians who actually need it.