David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the urgent need for the government to re-list the finance sector reform bills for debate this week. The reforms in these bills are urgent and overdue. The bills would immediately empower ASIC to go after predatory lenders that are avoiding the law. To give an example, the Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network is reporting that lender Cigno is targeting First Nations people and charging around 900 per cent interest on the loans they issue. This is disgusting and clearly exploitative. We have the means to stop this. If the bill passes this week, we could go after Cigno and other predatory lenders and put an end to the sector exploiting the most vulnerable in our community. I urge the government to re-list the bills for consideration by the Senate.