Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Another week rolls on with this government sitting by and doing nothing while 650,000 Australian families are ripped off by payday lenders. This is in stark contrast to my colleagues on this side of the House, who are determined to see the loan sharks reined in with sensible legislation which, I might add, this government has endorsed but has since crab-walked away from.

It was a pleasure to join the member for Brand, the member for Lalor and Labor's candidate for Deakin, Shireen Morris, last week at a payday lending community roundtable at EACH in Ringwood, where we heard firsthand the damage being inflicted by the loan sharks on unsuspecting families. But this is not new information. Those opposite know full well the exploitation and rip-offs that are occurring every day by the loan sharks, yet they refuse to do anything about it. I note the member for Fadden is now the fourth minister responsible for this important issue, and I can't say that I'm expecting anything positive from someone who has argued for a tax break on luxury yachts over acting in the best interests of everyday Australians. As Labor's candidate for Deakin, Shireen Morris, says in today's Agenewspaper:

There has been a revolving door of assistant ministers in charge of the work. None has acted. Sadly, this includes the member for Deakin … who was assistant minister to the treasurer before he resigned to the backbench after backing Peter Dutton in the leadership spill.

Plenty of plotting, zero action to protect ordinary Australians.

It's time the government stopped focusing on themselves and started focusing on Australians.