Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

That is exactly what I am suggesting we should not do. We should not get on with it today because, remember, the Labor changes, which we have effectively amended and improved as a result of our regulations, imposed $750 million in additional costs up front on the financial services industry, which ultimately have to be carried by people across Australia saving for their retirement. It imposed $375 million in ongoing additional compliance costs, which ultimately have to be carried by people across Australia saving for their retirement and managing their investments. Of course, if we now pass this regulation today, that is the law that comes back into effect, and all these institutions across Australia will have to scramble, in some chaos and facing unnecessary uncertainty while we are trying to work something out over the next week or so, to comply with a law that we are already saying we want to amend.

It would be much more sensible, given that this particular disallowance motion does not have to be dealt with until 27 November and will remain on the Notice Paper until 27 November, to have those conversations now—that is what I would say to Senator Xenophon—than to impose chaos and uncertainty on an important industry, to force them into a position to comply with a law which should not be the law of the land, which forces them, essentially, to incur expenses which they should not have to incur, given that the Senate is—