After weeks of intense lobbying from industry association.s and ambiguous movement of the Tax Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No. 2) Bill 2013 from one corner of Parliament House to another, assistant treasurer David Bradbury appeared in the Lower House yesterday to move amendments excising the elements of the Bill pertaining to financial advisers.
“The government will allow further time for the parliament to consider the legislation,” the assistant treasurer wrote in a statement following the vote.
However, addressing the House, Mr Bradbury also signalled the government’s intention to proceed with the Bill and specifically, to have financial advisers who provide tax advice brought under the jurisdiction of the Tax Practitioners Board.
“Somebody needs to come into this place and stand up for consumers,” he told the chamber. “I’m sure some financial planners are doing a good job in their communities but it’s our job to protect consumers first and foremost and the Bill would provide them the clarity and confidence they deserve.”
Mr Bradbury accused the Coalition – which has for some time been vocally supporting the financial planning representative bodies’ push for excision of the relevant schedules of the Bill – of hiding behind “process” in a bid to hide the true agenda of anti-consumer legislation.
Independent Member for Lyne Rob Oakeshott also questioned the consumer benefits of removing the TASA-relevant parts of the Bill, claiming he had been satisfied through communication with the accounting bodies and financial services minister Bill Shorten, that the Bill was in the best interests of consumers.
“I know there are financial planners out there popping the champagne, but I would hope this is just buying a window of time and not the chamber closing the door [on this Bill],” Mr Oakeshott said.
In response, shadow minister for financial services and superannuation Senator Mathias Cormann released a statement suggesting that the referral of the Bill to the PJC indicated the government had “caved in to Coalition demands”.
“The government was grossly abusing the parliamentary process, by refusing to have those changes properly considered by a parliamentary inquiry,” Senator Cormann said.
Wading into the financial services regulation debate for the first time in months, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey also castigated the government’s position on the TASA Bill, launching an impassioned defence of the financial advice industry.
“The Coalition is deeply unhappy with the government’s chaotic handling of this Bill,” Mr Hockey said.
“We have sought to have this Bill referred to PJC but it has gone from committee to committee.
“They wonder why their government is so chaotic – this is the largest taxation Bill on record – and the government introduces it and refuses to hold any consultation and tries to rush it through on the eve on an election without consulting those that are affected most.”
The heated exchange indicates that, only months out from a general election, financial services regulation may well be firmly back on the political agenda.
The Financial Planning Association and Association of Financial Advisers have welcomed the move and vowed to offer constructive engagement as the PJC conducts its review.
