Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Labor will be supporting this amendment. There's a part of me that feels for Senator Seselja, having to give an answer like that—not wanting to rush something through that was recommended five years ago and then confirmed three years ago. I imagine the government's focus on this issue might become more urgent as this amendment gets repeatedly put on these bills, as Senator Patrick has indicated he's intending to do. We do believe that this amendment is worthwhile. We think it's sensible. It increases transparency and consistency in the corporate law system. The private companies on this list, many owned by Australia's richest and most powerful individuals, are benefiting from an unfair and out-of-date grandfathering regime. We do believe this amendment increases accountability for large proprietary companies. We have supported this amendment in previous bills and we support it today. I think, if anything, it's going to make the government take this issue more seriously than it perhaps has over the past five years.