Arch Bevis (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Human Services and Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law. Will the minister update the House on recent reports into the strength of Australia’s financial services sector? What do these reports show and what action has the government taken to improve Australia’s competitive position as a regional financial services hub?

Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is fair to say that, so far, Australia has withstood the global financial crisis better than any comparable nation, but there is more to do to make sure that we capitalise on the opportunities provided by our comparative strengths and also to ensure that we continue to outperform the rest of the world. A robust financial services sector is important to that agenda. It is important to ensure that we continue to capitalise on the opportunities available so that we have well-paying, highly skilled jobs in the financial services sector and export more of Australia’s financial services, which are so important to our economic performance.

The World Economic Forum last week released its Financial development report 2009, which gave a significant endorsement of the maturity of Australia’s financial markets. I am very pleased to report to the House that that report marked Australia as second in the world—ahead of the United States, ahead of Hong Kong and Singapore and ahead of many of our competitors—for the maturity of our financial services sector. Importantly, in this very tumultuous time, Australia was the only country in the top 10 to have improved its performance over the last 12 months. The stability of our financial sector has been very important in this result. Australia’s financial services sector has been building on its strengths, building on the quality of our prudential regulation and building on its very good track record. It has been further supported by the strength of the real economy. It has been further supported by the fact that Australia is the only nation among the nations with which we normally compare ourselves which has not gone into a technical recession.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks to the coalition government!

Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Dickson! The member for Dickson could not even organise a successful surrender of his own seat and he is giving us advice. We have all heard of Pyrrhic victories. He had a Pyrrhic surrender—‘the member for to be advised’ interjects.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. He may have his Keating suit on today, but he is no Paul Keating.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Dickson will resume his seat.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Dutton interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Dickson is warned! Order! Before giving the minister the call, I suggest to the minister that he would assist if he ignored interjections, and interjectors should learn not to interject and make themselves targets.

Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Paul Keating never ran away from a fight.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will return to the question.

Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Also important has been the Australian government’s response in instituting the wholesale and retail banking guarantee to ensure the stability of Australia’s financial services sector. As well as being ranked second overall, Australia was ranked first in the world for low risk of sovereign debt crisis, a very important finding , which belies some of the outlandish and opportunistic claims we have heard about the level of Australia’s government debt—first in the world for low risk of sovereign debt crisis. As I say, Australia was the only financial sector in the top 10 over the last 12 months to improve its performance. But there is still a lot more left to do.

We need to make sure that Australia does not squander these opportunities. We need to make sure that we build on the opportunities. For some time the world’s investors will be looking to see who got through this crisis the best. The world’s investors will be looking for a safe harbour where prudential regulation is respected and where the financial services and real economy have done well. We will be making a case that Australia is that nation. That is why we have been taking policy initiatives like reducing our withholding tax from the highest rate in the world to effectively the lowest, to rewriting our tax treatment of managed investment funds and to doing all the other things that needed to have been done over the last decade and a half but which were not done. We will continue to do those things.

Soon we will be receiving the Johnson report, which was instigated by the government last year to recommend the next steps to build on the work we have already done. While some in the House may contend that the hard work is all done, while some in the House may contend that it is time to withdraw stimulus and to leave the financial sector on its own, and to leave the economy on its own, we say there is more work to be done. We will not miss opportunities to create jobs. We will not miss the opportunities to build a financial services sector in Australia which exports more and creates better, well-paying jobs for Australians. We will not miss the opportunities because that is what the Australian people expect of us.