Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

I rise following the contribution of the member for Batman. Sadly, what he was saying was true in parts but erroneous in others. Unfortunately, we have been left the most enormous mess by the previous government. As so often happens, it falls to the Liberal Party and our Nationals colleagues to come into government and to fix up the mess that has been created by the Labor Party in government. Six years of unrestrained spending and an inability to provide a vision for the future and then follow through with any sort of cogent policy—even good ideas where they could completely mess up the implementation—six years of chaos, and now we have to be the ones who come in and sort it out.

Sadly, that means that we need to make decisions that we would not normally make. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre Supervisory Cost Recovery Levy (Collection) Amendment Bill 2014 is one of them. We would not normally have to move to a situation where we would need 100 per cent cost recovery from an agent like AUSTRAC. Unfortunately, the circumstances which we have inherited have left the government with no decision but to make difficult decisions, and this is one of those decisions.

As has been noted in this rather brief debate, AUSTRAC is vitally important instrumentality for the government. It is our counter-terrorism-financing body and our anti-money-laundering body. We have been reminded today by events in Melbourne that the importance of AUSTRAC is vital. It does need to protect our community by making sure Australians are not supporting terrorists. If you are financing terrorists, you are directly contributing to the atrocities that they are committing. We take the dimmest possible view of Australians engaging in that sort of conflict, and the penalties for doing so can include life imprisonment. It is a very grave crime. AUSTRAC is the agency that in conjunction with other law enforcement and intelligence agencies is responsible for policing it.

There is not a lot further that I could add. This bill, in conjunction with the primary bill, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre Supervisory Cost Recovery Levy Amendment Bill 2014, transitions AUSTRAC from its current cost-recovery arrangements to a model that enables an industry contribution to AUSTRAC's dual role as Australia's anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing regulator and financial intelligence unit. The bill sets out a number of operational arrangements necessary to administer the industry contribution. It also sets out the requirement for an independent review of the operation of the industry contribution after the fourth anniversary of commencement. This will ensure that the operation of the levy is appropriately evaluated in close consultation with industry. This bill together with the primary bill will ensure that AUSTRAC continues to provide a regulatory and intelligence environment that maintains community confidence in financial flows and minimises the risk to businesses of exploitation for money laundering or terrorism financing.

As I indicated in my opening remarks, it does not give me a lot of pleasure to be dealing with this bill in the House today. Sadly, this is one of the many decisions that the grown-ups in the room need to make as we have come into government. We are faced with the enormous mess that the Labor Party left us This is one of the bills that deals with fixing up that mess, and I therefore commend it to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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