Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

People, including the previous speaker, the member for Kingsford Smith, have outlined in very clear detail what Labor's position is in relation to the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response—Protecting Consumers (2019 Measures)) Bill 2019 and that is, of course, that we will support it, but we've moved some second reading amendments, and they are done very, very seriously. I want to restrict my remarks to schedule 2, which extends consumer protection provisions of the ASIC Act 2001 to cover funeral expense policies.

I have spoken previously to the Treasurer about the seriousness of this particular part of the legislation. It goes very much to what I am sure previous speakers have spoken about from this side of the House and that is around funerals. The Hayne royal commission has been clearly outlined, and it made some very real comments about the efficacy or lack of efficacy of the Aboriginal Community Benefits Fund. I just want to speak very clearly about that and the absolute need for the government to make sure that the people who have invested in that scheme—and we know that there are thousands of those people—are not disenfranchised because of the passing of this bill and the potential for organisations to fall over.

Within the Aboriginal community—and I will outline it here very clearly—the life expectancy, as people know, is much, much shorter than in others. The rate of disease is much, much higher. I have to say that there are many funerals that I have been to that are of people that are very young. Had they not been Aboriginal, they would still be with us. We know that infant mortality is much higher. We know that death from homicide is much higher. We know death from suicide is much higher. We know death from a number of diseases, including cancer and in particular heart disease, is much, much higher. We know diabetes is much, much higher. These are often comorbidities. So the issue of death is also, from a cultural perspective, viewed in a very different way. I can't tell you, Madam Speaker, how many funerals I've been to where people say to me, 'The only time we see each other now is at funerals,' and that is the reality for First Nations people in this country.

Thousands and thousands of First Nations people have taken the step of investing early, and they believe they've done it appropriately, in funeral benefit funds. I pay tribute to my very dear friend, Mr Graham Mooney, who died a dreadful death. He died far too young. I spent most of my holidays, as many others did, helping to organise and officiate at Graham's funeral. Graham had invested in this fund. It is so important that the government and the departmental people understand that this is a very real issue. We're talking about people who are poor. We're talking about people who have not wanted to burden their families, because they knew their families could not bear the cost of a funeral, so they have invested in this fund, often in very difficult circumstances. It is absolutely critical that this group of consumers is taken particular notice of, and that particular care is taken of them, if the passing of this legislation is going to null and void those insurances.

Many of them have been paid over and over again, because the investment was often when people were very young. In fact, there are many circumstances where parents actually signed their children up to these funeral funds because of the circumstances that I have outlined. So I urge the government, from a very human perspective, to please take notice of this and to please make sure that this group of consumers—I think you were talking about how many, Mr Jones?

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