The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) would step up the pressure on federal MPs in the next two to three weeks ahead of fresh debate on the government's draft financial industry reforms, the AFA's chief said yesterday.
The Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) on Corporations and Financial Services is due to table its report on the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) recommendations on 29 February, which would open debate on the reforms in the House of Representatives.
"The debate now needs to reside back in the House. That means talking to the independents and talking to politicians on all sides," AFA chief executive Richard Klipin said.
"We have a letter about to go out to all politicians. We've had members see Andrew Wilkie and Rob Oakeshott and we're just going to continue that over the coming two to three weeks," Klipin told InvestorDaily.
Independent MPs Wilkie, Oakeshott, Bob Katter and Tony Windsor are regarded as key to the passage or otherwise of the FOFA reforms through Parliament. Klipin said the AFA would meet with all crossbenchers, as well as politicians across the spectrum, over the next few weeks.
Asked whether there was any outcome from the AFA's meetings so far with independent MPs, he said: "My sense is the political environment in Canberra is very fluid and people are appropriately holding their cards fairly close to their chest."
The AFA has said FOFA will cost 6800 adviser jobs. However, the average practice employs five or six people, including support staff, so the number of people made jobless by the reforms could swell to about 35,000.
"We're hopeful that they'll see the sense in getting rid of some of the parts of FOFA that work against their constituents," Klipin said, referring to AFA efforts to convince MPs to scrap the opt-in and annual fee disclosure components of the reforms.
"I'm hopeful that the government will listen to the evidence of FOFA and the PJC mark 2, and they will make the call to amend it in the best interests of the community.
"That's our hope. Now we've got to go out and make sure it happens."
