Labor forced into embarrassing back down after abject failure
In an embarrassing attempt to cover up its botched legislative rollout of new financial advice laws, the Albanese Labor Government has finally moved amendments to the first tranche of its response to the Quality of Advice Review (QAR).
This comes after the Coalition sent Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones a letter calling for him to drop section 99FA in division 1 of Schedule 1 from the Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering Better Financial Outcomes and Other Measures) Bill 2024.
Once again, the Coalition has led the charge in cleaning up Labor’s mess.
Industry has been raising serious concerns about the government’s response to the QAR for months, with little response from Labor, leaving industry feeling uncertain.
It took Labor a staggering 16 months to begin responding to the review, and we still don’t have a timeline for a full legislative response.
While today’s amendments attempt to address these concerns, it’s too little, too late.
Stephen Jones’ incompetence has been exposed once again.
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the financial advice sector deserves better than Mr Jones.
“This is a desperate attempt to cover up Stephen Jones’ failures.
“Jim Chalmers is missing in action leaving Stephen Jones’ to cause chaos for the sector. They deserve better.
“These amendments are only necessary because the Albanese Labor Government couldn’t get it right the first time. They completely failed to manage the legislation properly and they failed to consult stakeholders appropriately.
“The government was dragged kicking and screaming to respond to what should be a seminal productivity roadmap for our finance advice sector.
“At a time when Australians are under banked, under insured and under advised, Labor just can’t help itself but make it harder for Australians to access affordable financial advice.”
Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Financial Services Luke Howarth said the financial advice sector has been neglected by the Albanese Labor Government.
“The amendments should never have been necessary if the Government had done their job properly from the start. These last-minute fixes are a testament to his lack of foresight and planning. The industry deserves better than a Government operating in crisis mode. While we support the amendments, we cannot ignore that they only came after the Coalition wrote to the Assistant Treasurer calling for them and raising the sector’s serious concerns.”
“It’s time for Labor to stop the reactive policymaking and start engaging with industry stakeholders from the beginning to craft effective legislation which supports the growth of the sector and more affordable financial advice. The advice sector will rightly be concerned about the next tranche of financial advice legislation and whether it will even emerge before an election is called.”
“Only a Coalition Government will ensure the financial advice sector is supported by well-considered, proactive policies. We are committed to providing a stable environment where financial advisers can thrive and Australians can access the quality advice they need without unnecessary red tape and confusion,” Mr Howarth stated.