Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

The government does not support this amendment. We do not consider it appropriate to directly regulate this issue in legislation. It is difficult. I am not sure whether the senator could indicate any area where governments do regulate a cap on this kind of financial service. We also believe that it is impractical. It would be difficult to enforce and, frankly, also easily avoided.

I should indicate that—in relation to the substantive legislation or one of the consequential bills before the chamber—we think having a sound regulatory system in relation to this new market is important. We have put forward a scheme which deems units as financial products and they will be regulated by the same pieces of legislation and regulation that this parliament has already passed or will pass in the future in relation to financial product regulation.