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

For a man of Senator Ronaldson's calibre, I am surprised that this is the best he can come up with. I have a lot of respect for his powers of argument and putting up a cogent case—but honestly! He is saying do not add an extra layer of protection for consumers because ASIC will not have the resources to do so. In fact, this would make it easier. Let us put this argument to rest. Having a clearer test would mean less uncertainty. If you have clearer guidelines and a clearer test it would arguably lead to a lessening of the resources needed by ASIC to deal with what is currently very vague. I am not sure if that will convince Senator Ronaldson to change his view in relation to this. He seems unmoved, so I will not pursue it.

The minister says there is a regulatory guide. Since the guide came out in 2006 how many actions have there been, how many warnings have been sent out and how many prosecutions have there been in relation to breaches of unfair contract terms that we are supposed to interpret with this regulatory guide?