Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services. How is the Albanese—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Werriwa will just resume her seat, and the member for Barker, who's on a warning, who has had quite a bit to say this question time, will now leave the chamber under 94(a).

The member for Barker then left the chamber.

Order! The member for Spence will also leave the chamber under 94(a). That is unparliamentary.

The member for Spence then left the chamber.

Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services. How is the Albanese Labor government's fight against scammers helping Australians keep their money safe and ensuring people keep more of what they earn?

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the amazing member for Werriwa for that question. I also thank her for organising and inviting me to a great gathering at the Liverpool Catholic Club last week to discuss this very issue. In fact, it came the day after the member for Newcastle invited me to attend a gathering at the Souths Merewether to inform her constituents about these important consumer issues.

It is worth advising the House that it's now 297 days since the coalition has had a consumer affairs spokesperson. It is important—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wannon will state his point of order, not just give a statement.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's relevance. There was nothing about us asked for in that question. There really wasn't.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Resume your seat. The question was about how the government is fighting against scammers and helping to keep Australians safe and keep more of what they earn, so, whilst the minister can explain the reasoning behind that, it is not within the standing orders for him to do a compare and contrast within this question. He has the call.

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese government is committed to ensuring that Australians earn more and that they keep more of what they earn. If they're saving that money, investing or shopping online, we're committed to ensuring that we keep people's money safe.

Now, we've come from a long way back, because when we came into government there was an appalling track record left to us by the former government. Annual losses to scams were $3 billion a year.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will pause. I want the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to withdraw that statement, and then she can leave the chamber under 94A.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member.

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm making the point that, if we continued the policies adopted by others, those losses per annum would go from $3 billion to $6 billion to $12 billion over the term of this parliament. The good news is that, because of the policies that have been implemented by the Albanese government, they haven't. In fact, for the first time in years, we're seeing scam losses actually decline. They've declined because we have put in place a range of measures, including standing up Australia's—in fact the world's—first national antiscam centre, which is taking the fight to scammers. You can't keep people safe unless you're keeping their money safe, and we're dedicated to ensuring we're keeping people's money safe. We've stood up the National Anti-Scam Centre. We've got the Australian Securities and Investments Commission pulling down fake websites. There have been over 4,000 already. My friend the Minister for Communications is working with the telecommunications companies to ensure that they're blocking more and more—in fact millions—of those menacing SMS messages. There's more work to come.

Of course, it's not game over. We've got to continue taking the fight up to the scammers. It's why this year we'll be implementing tough new codes of practice. Those codes of practice will put obligations on banks, social media companies and telecommunications companies to ensure we are doing more and more to keep people's money safe. We will not adopt the same policies of those opposite, which saw scam losses double, and then double, and then double again. We're committed to keeping people's money safe, because we want them to earn more, to keep more of what they earn and to keep their money safe.