Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water) Share this | Hansard source

I indicate that the government does not support the seven amendments as proposed by the Australian Greens. We believe that the legislation that the minister has brought forward to the Senate gets the balance right amongst all the competing interests of people in this industry, including the consumers. Roughly 15 per cent of the population is unable to get credit, so regrettably those people are required to use payday lenders. We believe that the legislation that we have brought forward gets the balance right between protecting those people who find themselves in a position where they cannot do anything other than use payday lenders but does not go so far as to abolish the industry. We think the balance in legislation, after significant consultation, gets it right. It is worth bearing in mind that none of these amendments were introduced in the House of Representatives by the Greens.

To the best of my knowledge, the first time that the government has seen these amendments has been today. It is very late in the process to bring up these issues. We think that the balance is right. The minister has taken into account all of the issues that all of the stakeholders have raised. We are protecting those people who through no fault of their own are required to use payday lenders, but we are not abolishing the industry.