Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying, this is an extra tax grab of $900 million. Basically, it is the government with its hands in the pockets of Australians. This is Robin Hood in reverse. While it may be understandable to some that a government and a Treasurer that have totally lost control of their fiscal policy would be desperate to rip every dollar that they can out of the pockets of Australians, the fact that they attempt to hide it through this bill is what frustrates and angers the community and certainly leads them to not trust the duplicitous actions of this government. More than half the Gillard government's promised surplus 2012-13—and I said 'promised'—is to be achieved through the increased revenue from this bill. This is the sole purpose of the government removing this money from your accounts. This is what the government is doing.

Its addiction to spending has left it unable to balance its budget. The government will, as it has so often previously, resort to negative comparisons to somehow justify this incompetence and its wasteful spending. How often have we had to listen to the Treasurer basically gloating that Australia's debt position is not nearly as bad as that of other nations? It is an absolute nonsense argument: 'We might be in a bad way, but others are worse, so that makes it fine.' This government is saying that, although they have propelled Australia down a hole, we are not as deeply down that hole as perhaps somewhere like Greece or other at risk nations, so that should give us some comfort. That is a farce perpetrated on us all by a Labor government in a desperate state. And they are looking at walking away from that budget surplus promise—just watch this space.

Australia was in a good financial position. The previous Liberal government left the current one with a budget surplus, no net debt and billions of dollars invested in savings. The Labor government did what Labor governments do: they spent all the money and wasted so much of it. They are now gorging on debt. Through our amendments, the coalition is seeking to fix what is just the latest legislative debacle from this government. Our amendments seek to redefine the appropriate timeframes needed for fairness in this process. For example, the three-year inactivity threshold for bank accounts is far too short. I have articulated any number of reasons why your account may not have been active over that period. That definitely should be reviewed. The most appropriate period needs to be reassessed. There also needs to be a better explanation as to why the first homeowner account is included. It is just an extraordinary inclusion. Many aspiring homeowners struggle to attain that much-needed deposit. They are working so hard and we should be encouraging such people, not making it harder for them, not having them live in fear: 'If you don't make a contribution to that account, then the government will take it.'

There are also questions about the range of accounts captured by this legislation. It remains the position of the opposition that the new rules should apply only to accounts that earn very low or zero interest, typically at-call accounts.

The coalition also believe that accounts should be grouped under account holders so that if someone has one or more active accounts which are currently in use, then any inactive accounts should not be claimed by the government. They are working their accounts; it is how they are working their financial affairs. In such circumstances, the account holder is obviously known to the banking institution and their account is not lost; it is simply inactive. And that is okay and should be okay with this government. It is not okay for the government to take your funds in that instance.

The government has already acknowledged that this latest piece of legislation is flawed. I wonder why the government cannot get its work done right the first time. Why can't it do the work that is necessary to get this type of legislation right? The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer has put out a media statement outlining a months delay in implementing the bill, which will now come into effect on 31 May next year.

This is just another example of the government's incompetence. We also know that further delays will almost be inevitable, as the government struggles to get its act together. The government also needs to tell the House and the banking sector how these amendments will change the financial impact of the bill over the forward estimates. We need to know more about this and so do the people of Australia. Let us hope that the government actually tries to improve this legislation and bring it into this House in the form it should have brought it in in the first place.

The amendments that the coalition are proposing certainly deserve support.

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