Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The committee is considering message No. 221 from the House of Representatives relating to the Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No. 3) Bill 2019.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the committee does not further insist on its amendments to which the House of Representatives has disagreed.

Rex Patrick (SA, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to indicate that it's my understanding that we will not, in this instance, insist on these amendments being attached to this bill, because there is an urgent need for financial advisers to be relieved in terms of their requirements for professional qualifications. However, I will indicate to the chamber that the crossbench, the Greens and the Labor Party are quite determined to deal with this particular issue. We have a regime in the Federal Register of Legislation whereby 1,119 companies are excluded from having to lodge annual reports to ASIC. That creates the potential for aggressive tax minimisation through opaqueness. It has to go. We cannot have a privileged class of companies in Australia, where there is one rule for certain companies with certain owners and another for all other companies.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to say that in the future One Nation will be supporting what Senator Patrick just said; we will be right behind him. We see this amendment as very, very important for the country.

Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to add that the Greens will be supporting this amendment. As we said yesterday and last week, we've put similar amendments up to Treasury bills in previous years. It's a really important issue. We've yet to have a statement from the minister as to why this is good public policy. Indeed, the government has been remiss in providing any information as to why this archaic grandfathering arrangement is still in place.

Senator Patrick interjecting—

Great-grandfathering arrangement, as Senator Patrick is now calling it, although I wouldn't say there's much that's great about it. Transparency should be in our genes. It's absolutely critical for us to take legislative and regulatory action against tax evasion. Transparency is critical. There's no reason that this over-20-year-old clause should still exist. This chamber has the opportunity to remove it, and I urge all senators to support the amended bill.

Question agreed to.

Resolution reported; report adopted.