Deborah O'Neill NSW, Australian Labor Party
2:00 pm
Mr President, my question is to the acting Assistant Treasurer, Senator Cormann. I refer to comments by Michael O'Neill, CEO of National Seniors, who has described the government's actions yesterday to secure its watering down of financial advice as a 'grubby' deal which treats older Australians with contempt. Won't the government's grubby deal leave consumers vulnerable to dodgy advice?
Mathias Cormann WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance
2:01 pm
I thank Senator O'Neill for that question.
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Opposition Senators:
Opposition senators interjecting—
Mathias Cormann WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance
It will not surprise her when I say that I do not accept and do not agree with the characterisation of what happened in the chamber last night. What happened in the chamber last night is that the Senate supported—
Doug Cameron NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services
And you were humiliated—standing up there taking your orders from PUP.
Mathias Cormann WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance
good improvements to our financial advice laws, good improvements that deliver benefits for consumers and small-business financial advisers. The coalition delivered on the commitments it took to the last election. The Senate supported our changes to financial advice laws through regulations. After we registered and tabled the regulations, as I always said we would do, we had a range of conversations with senators on the crossbench, including senators from the Palmer United Party.
Doug Cameron NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services
It wasn't a conversation; you said you were told!
Senator Jacinta Collins interjecting —
Mathias Cormann WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance
Mr Palmer, as leader of the Palmer United Party, put forward some suggestions on how our improvements could be made even better. And the government considered those suggestions. We recognised that they were sensible suggestions. We decided to adopt those suggestions, and we very transparently put all of the detail on the public record.
As a result of the changes that were supported by the Senate yesterday, access to financial advice for consumers will be more affordable, because we have cut all the unnecessary and costly red tape. We have maintained all of the important consumer protections that matter for consumers. We have got rid of the unnecessary and costly opt-in requirement forcing people to re-sign contracts with their advisers on a regular basis. We got rid of the retrospective additional annual fee disclosure requirement. We provided certainty around the operational—
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
National Seniors is well-known as a left-wing organisation!
Doug Cameron NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services
What do you want me to do about that, Clive?!
Opposition senators interjecting—
Mathias Cormann WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance
We provided certainty around the availability of scaled advice. These are all good, sensible reforms which will improve the regulatory settings for financial services in Australia.
Deborah O'Neill NSW, Australian Labor Party
2:03 pm
Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I refer to the commitment made by the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary, Mr Frydenberg to 'genuinely consult with those parties who are most affected by any new legislation'. What consultation did the minister undertake with business or consumer groups, some of whom were in the building yesterday, prior to agreeing to his grubby deal to water down financial advice?
Mathias Cormann WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance
I thank Senator O'Neill for that supplementary. The consultation on improvements to our financial advice laws has been going for more than 3½ years. We were very clear, in the lead up to the last election, what our objective was.
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
The consultation of your grubby deal!
Mathias Cormann WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance
Our objective was to ensure that we had a robust but efficient regulatory system in place, which was competitively neutral and where consumers or people saving for their retirement, managing their financial risk through life, were able to access high-quality advice they can trust and which is also affordable. The changes that were supported by the Senate yesterday—and I thank the Senate for supporting the government's reforms—will help deliver exactly that. That was a very good outcome. The government does not have the numbers in the Senate. Surprise, surprise. We understand this.
An opposition senator: You've done your deal!
Mathias Cormann WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance
Yesterday afternoon, when Labor was starting to worry about what might happen, shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen, was trying to do a deal with the government, but his deal was very bad. He was trying to send me a last-minute letter to do a deal, but we rejected Labor's deal. (Time expired)
Opposition senators interjecting—
Deborah O'Neill NSW, Australian Labor Party
2:04 pm
Mr President, I have a further supplementary question. What will be the annual cost to business resulting from the additional red tape in the government's proposed new regulations, which the minister read into Hansard yesterday?
Mathias Cormann WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance
2:05 pm
I thank Senator O'Neill for that final supplementary question. This is the great thing. What we have agreed, with the Palmer United Party and the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party, represented by their leader, Mr Palmer, is ensure that we have made specific provision in the statement of advice—a form that already exists—in relation to rights and obligations that are already provided for in the Corporations Act and the advice that I have received from the Office of Best Practice Regulation—
Claire Moore Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women
Mr President, I have a point of order specifically on direct relevance. As I stood, I was hoping the minister was getting close, but I would ask you to draw the attention of the minister to the specific question about the cost to business.
Opposition senators interjecting—
Stephen Parry President
Order! The minister is being directly relevant. Minister, you have the call.
Mathias Cormann WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance
When Labor imposed all of their additional and unnecessary red tape with their forecast changes, the cost to us—$750 million to implement, $375 million a year in additional—
Claire Moore Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women
Mr President, a point of order on relevance: our question was specifically about cost to business of the changes brought in yesterday. We have not got there.
Stephen Parry President
It also referred to a letter, and—
Opposition senators interjecting—
Order! And it also referred to comments in the chamber yesterday.
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Mr President, on the point of order: with respect, the changes were the letter read into Hansard yesterday. So it is the same topic. And we are asking: 'What is the business cost of the deal, which was read out into Hansard yesterday, by the minister?'
Stephen Parry President
The minister has nine seconds left to answer the question.
Mathias Cormann WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance
The beautiful thing is that the measures that were supported by the Senate yesterday deliver $190 million a year in savings to the financial advisors, which will be passed through— (Time expired)