Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

I will keep my comments very brief. I find it extraordinary that the government wants to send the message to the community that there should be one set of rules that apply to the super rich in Australia and another set of rules that apply to the rest of us. That is quite simply what this amendment seeks to do—to change what is currently existing so there's not one set of rules for the super rich and one for the rest of us. There is no public interest reason for the government not to support this amendment.

I think it's rather childish if the whole purpose of the government not supporting this amendment is simply because it isn't an idea of government. This place is supposed to be the contest of ideas. All good ideas should come up from this, and, if it's a good idea that the majority of the place supports, like what happened in the Senate, then the government should take that idea and champion it. But what's happened twice now is that, because the government have the majority numbers in this chamber, they have not supported a very sensible amendment simply because it's not their amendment. The Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No. 3) Bill 2019 is a good idea. We can't allow in Australia one set of rules for the rich and one for the rest of us.

I implore the government: don't allow this to be the hill that you want to die on—on this issue in Australia now. Our community wants transparency. They don't want to see the richest people in Australia getting to hide their information, particularly when ASIC has been very clear that it believes that this rule should be overturned. I would urge the government, in the strongest possible terms, to accept this amendment. This is a good amendment for Australia.

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