David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, I'd like to thank those members who have contributed to this debate. This bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No. 2) Bill 2019, contains measures which will assist older Australians, help farmers and tourism operators, improve the efficiency of the Australian Energy Regulator, ensure that consumer privacy remains central to the Consumer Data Right regime, and protect retirement savings from erosion.

Schedule 1 to the bill amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to extend the concessional tax treatment of genuine redundancy and early retirement scheme payments for those under age-pension-qualifying age. These amendments will assist older Australians who receive a genuine redundancy or early retirement scheme payment but are not yet able to receive the age pension. These amendments are a part of the government's commitment to deliver lower taxes and ensure Australians keep more of the money that they earn.

Schedule 2 to the bill helps those farmers and tourism operators who need heavy-duty passenger vehicles to traverse vast distances and rugged terrain. Schedule 2 will provide them with a greater refund of the luxury car tax which has been paid, by now allowing for a full refund and by lifting the refund cap to $10,000. These new arrangements will apply to eligible vehicles acquired on or after 1 July 2019.

Schedule 3 to the bill amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to expand the board of the Australian Energy Regulator from three to five members and ensures the expanded board can operate efficiently. This will ensure that the Australian Energy Regulator is adequately resourced to effectively regulate our energy markets, which will lead to better outcomes for energy market participants and consumers.

Schedule 4 to the bill amends the Consumer Data Right to ensure that consumer privacy remains central to the regime. The introduction of the Consumer Data Right implemented an economy-wide right to data access and use for consumers. It requires that the primary consumer data right regulator, the ACCC, use the rule-making power already afforded to them in the original act to create rules that allow consumers to request that the accredited data recipients delete consumer data relating to them. This is stronger than the specifications in the original act, which provided the ACCC with the power to make these rules but did not compel them to do so. By legislating that the ACCC must include rules relating to the deletion of personal data, we are encouraging longer-lasting confidence in the system and helping to ensure that government-to-government public concerns about privacy remain central as the system expands.

Schedule 5 to the bill enables the Commissioner of Taxation to calculate and pay interest on ATO-held super that the ATO proactively reunites with members' active accounts. This is another step in the government's agenda to ensure that people's hard-earned retirement savings are protected from erosion.

I commend the bill to the House.

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