Deborah O'Neill (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am glad I did not have to hear that, Madam Deputy Speaker. As I was saying, the reality is that we have companies that are engaging in extremely unethical practices and that are taking money away from employees. This legislation does three very important things. It introduces the administrative power that ASIC needs to make sure that, if it is planning to become bankrupt suddenly in order to keep its assets to itself and not pay its workers fairly, a company will have a whole lot more trouble achieving that end. Secondly, we understand that the publication of insolvency notices is going to change the way in which companies can make public the fact that they have become a failed company. I noticed that not many people from the other side of this chamber spoke about the fact that one of the things this legislation does is shift the place in which notification of a failed company has to be advised. Currently it can be in a newspaper. My understanding is that if a company becomes a failed company in New South Wales the less ethical types might decide to put a notice of that failed company in a newspaper as far away as Victoria. This legislation is going to require companies that have failed to put their details on to a public website.

Debate interrupted.

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