Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

With each and every transaction that all Australians make, whether it be online shopping, scanning rewards cards or liking posts on social media, we produce data for companies. And, whether we realise it or not, these companies are collecting data on our behaviours and spending habits in order to monetise that data. The reality is our data has become a product that can be packed up and sold to those looking to target us and make a profit. Data is used to target ads towards individuals with certain interests or towards a certain demographic. It's used by retailers to target their regular shoppers and by banks to manage risk. Data collection is the reason that we all get emails about our favourite snacks that are on sale at Woolworths or Coles and why the banks call us about their latest products. While there are some benefits to this, there are clearly some risks as well.

Prior to my time in parliament, I spent 15 years in business and worked in small business. I had the opportunity to work at Mars Australia, a large multinational, and we used a lot of data. In many ways it was a great asset to us. It allowed us to make sure that we could target the products that consumers were looking for and ultimately make it easier for consumers to find what they were looking for. I also spent time at a tech company called Ritual, and at the business we had access to a significant amount of people's data: their personal data, their spending habits and even their movements through their iPhone.

There are significant benefits to us as consumers and to society by being able to maximise that data. But it does bring risks, and there is no doubt that businesses profit from that. So it's only fair, if we're going allow businesses to use that data for their own means, that consumers have the right to protect and own their data. That's why there is so much power in the data, but until the Consumer Data Right was introduced, the power sat primarily or solely with corporations. Consumers themselves had no power or opportunity to access that data. The Consumer Data Right was a significant economic and consumer-centric reform. It was the previous coalition government that spearheaded the rollout of the Consumer Data Right. We did this to protect consumers, reduce red tape, improve cyber-resilience and support digital innovation in the delivery of core business functions. It was first launched in the banking sector in 2020 to give consumers and small businesses more power over their own data and to compare and switch banking products. I would note that, at that time, the lead minister for introducing the Consumer Data Right was the then minister for the digital economy, Senator the Hon. Jane Hume. I have called before in this House and will continue to call in this House for the government to appoint a minister for the digital economy, to oversee and implement a national digital strategy.

The former coalition government formulated the Australian Digital Economy Strategy 2030, which set the foundation and frameworks for how we as lawmakers could make sure that society and the economy benefited from data but also that rights were protected. It's something you need an overall minister for because it impacts so many different portfolios. So I'll continue to urge the Albanese government to give the digital economy the respect it deserves and the leadership it needs and to appoint a minister for the digital economy.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Consumer Data Right) Bill 2022 would further expand the rights of consumers to access their data, and it is a bill the coalition is supporting. The bill will introduce action initiation reforms which will enable consumers to direct accredited persons to take actions on their behalf using the Consumer Data Right framework. Consumers may direct an accredited person to make a payment, open an account, switch their provider or update their personal details across a range of providers. At its core, this bill is all about improving consumer outcomes, while driving digital innovation and productivity across our economy. The Productivity Commission says that digitisation is a doorway to greater economic growth and a boost to our productivity. We all know, with the significant economic challenges we face at the moment and the high inflation, productivity is a key driver to bringing prices down and continuing our economic success.

Reforms like this are necessary because of the impact that red tape is having on the economy and on consumer outcomes. Independent research has estimated that the annual cost of red tape to our economy is $175 billion each year. In the financial sector alone, there are 140 prudential standards and practice guides covering the five APRA regulated industries. The Australian Law Reform Commission's legislative framework for the financial services sector sits at over 43,300 pages. The burden of compliance is significant, particularly for small businesses in my community who do not have the luxury of in-house legal teams or the ability to appoint administrators to cover paperwork. That's why it is so important that we get this reform right. It has got to make life easier, not harder, for consumers and for small business owners.

This bill will allow consumers to go to one of their service providers and say, 'Please update my address on all my accounts.' No longer will we have to let every service provider know, or get those ones that are missing, and suddenly the bill never comes through. So it is going to improve the lives of many Australians. Do it once and transform it all the way through. It's such an important initiative. By expanding the Consumer Data Right to include action initiations, consumers will be empowered to authorise and manage their data securely in the digital economy. It will further allow them to share the data that Australian businesses hold about them, but, importantly, for their own benefit.

I have spoken previously in this place about the importance of the digital economy. It has the potential to contribute $315 billion to our economy, but one of the greatest setbacks to growing our digital economy is consumer reluctance. Consumers often misunderstand how their data is harvested and used. We know there are significant concerns that consumers rightly have in the current environment about whether their data is safe and secure, and we must always make sure that we are setting frameworks that ensure cybersecurity and consumer data protection is at the front of everything we do.

Through giving consumers expanded control over their data being shared, we are increasing their faith and confidence in the future of our digital economy. The Consumer Data Right was always designed to grow over time. While in government, the coalition pursued expansion into the banking sector through open banking. We also pursued expansion into open finance, the energy sector and telecommunications. Not only is the Consumer Data Right enabling consumers to benefit from their data, it is spurring the creation of new tech companies and encouraging more innovative products and services. The Consumer Data Right is underpinned by stringent privacy and security protections, which are so important, as I mentioned. It prioritises consent, meaning consumers can choose whether to use the data right, and providers must receive explicit and informed consent to use their data. And, really importantly, it gives consumers full visibility over who their data is being shared with.

This bill expands a consumer data right from a data-sharing scheme to a scheme that allows consumers to act on the information that they receive. For example: this could allow consumers to change energy providers following receipt of information about other providers offering lower prices or more suitable circumstances. And, in this current environment, the ability to switch easily and to take advantage of lower prices is so important. This is all about making it easier for consumers to compare products and services, and to access better value for money—something that is so important with the energy and cost-of-living crises that we have. We all know that many Australians are doing it tough, and anything we can do in this House and in this place to make their lives easier is such important legislation. It's one of the many reasons why I'm supporting this legislation.

However, this legislation, on its own, will not be enough. We need to acknowledge that. The government must do more to support business and our economy, because Australian businesses and families are struggling. They need a government that listens to them, not one that tells them the government is the centre of the economy. Businesses in Casey, and across the nation—and I've spoken to many of them—have identified the issues and offered the solutions to Australia's economic challenges, but they feel that they're not being listened to. The challenges they face are significant and not just on the expenses side. I was talking to a small business just last night whose revenue has dropped by over 30 per cent since Christmas as consumers are starting to pull back. So small business has significant challenges, whether from increasing costs or lower revenue. We need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to support them.

The legislation that the government plans to pass in the next year calls for a huge $45 billion in extra borrowing for extra spending. This spending is off-budget spending; it's not going to be shown in the budget. But the IMF has already warned how this will drive inflation and make the cost of living worse for Australians. These are things that we have to avoid. So while we're supportive of this bill for its benefits to consumers, the digital economy and productivity, Labor must start listening to businesses and address the issues that we are facing today.

With this government's priorities, Australians will always pay more under Labor. It's essential that the government brings small business with them on this reform. The consumer data right has been carefully designed from the beginning to ensure that strong privacy and security mechanisms are built into the design. The government must get this right to maintain the integrity of the scheme and to strengthen consumer faith in our digital economy. I will finish by again urging the Albanese government to appoint a minister for the digital economy, because if we do not have one person overseeing our strategy, we will miss significant growth opportunities. And we will also leave Australians exposed to some of the cybersecurity risks that we saw last year. If we don't have a plan, how can we implement anything to make sure that we are maximising the opportunities available to the Australian people when they need help so often?

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