Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

As I understand it, with the toing and froing at my office—and, as usual, I think it is important to put this on the record—the government will support a reference to the Senate economics committee within 12 months as to the operation of this. I think that we have not heard the end of this yet. I am concerned that there will be another Sons of Gwalia situation coming up there, where people have been misrepresented to and where they have subscribed to a company under fraudulent circumstances and they will lose their rights, and they will not have the same rights, for instance, as a creditor in a winding-up. From a jurisprudential point of view and from the point of view of basic fairness and equity, this parliament is doing the wrong thing. I have been very comforted by Senator Johnston’s support in relation to this as a leading coalition senator. But I just hope that we can do a U-turn on this sooner rather than later.

Can Senator Collins, on behalf of the government, just confirm that undertaking that within the next 12 months the government will agree to the Senate economics committee revisiting this. I hope that there will not be another Sons of Gwalia situation where people who have invested in a company under circumstances where they have been misrepresented to and ripped off and left without the rights that the High Court has conferred on them.