Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022. As Labor said ahead of the federal election, we will always work to provide certainty and clarity on tax for Australian businesses and working families, particularly during challenging economic times for our country and around the world. Our focus has always been and will always be on making sure we build an economy that works for people, not the other way around; an economy that fosters aspiration, hope and opportunity; and an economy that holds no-one back, supported by a tax system that provides certainty.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022 is going to provide certainty to stakeholders about their tax obligations and benefit entitlements, reduce risks to the Commonwealth associated with uncertainty in existing laws and limit the retrospective application of proposed new laws. This bill contains a number of measures across four schedules: schedule 1, the recovery grants for Cyclone Seroja; schedule 2, transitional provisions relating to the repeal of the Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993; schedule 3, income tax and withholding exemptions for the FIFA Women's World Cup; and schedule 4, modernising business register delays and other minor and technical amendments.

Some more about schedule 1: it will provide an income tax exemption for qualifying grants made to primary producers and small businesses affected by Tropical Cyclone Seroja, which happened in April 2021. Tropical Cyclone Seroja had a devastating impact on a number of communities in Western Australia. Affected primary producers and small businesses were eligible for recovery grants of up to $25,000, which were activated as a category C measure under the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements 2018. In 2021-22 the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook included a measure to make these recovery grants non-accessible, non-exempt income for tax purposes. Schedule 1 makes these qualifying grants non-accessible, non-exempt income for tax purposes where those grants relate to the impact of Tropical Cyclone Seroja. Income tax will not be applied to these grants. These grants provide additional support to communities as they build and recover following the devastating event.

Schedule 2: in 2017 the then government agreed to the recommendation of the Ramsay review to establish the Australian Financial Complaints Authority to replace the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal. The SCT ceased operations on 31 December 2020, with six remaining cases successfully transferred to the AFCA. The SCT formally closed on 5 March 2022. These amendments ensure that administrative arrangements are in place to allow the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to undertake ongoing management of SCT records and any outstanding cases in the Federal Court to be appropriately remitted back to the AFCA. Complaints will not be adversely affected, as the AFCA is now the primary external dispute resolution body responsible for handling superannuation related complaints and is appropriately resourced to resolve outstanding SCT complaints. The AFCA Act will be amended to allow for the transfer of SCT records and documents to ASIC for ongoing records management and will also allow for the Federal Court to remit appealed cases back to the AFCA, where previously these had been remitted to the SCT.

Schedule 4: along with a number of technical and minor amendments, schedule 4 makes changes to the legislation that support the Modernising Business Registers—the MBR—program. The program is significantly delayed and will be well over budget. The MBR program will deliver an important piece of economic infrastructure that will be leveraged in several of our policy objectives. Our business registry IT systems are well beyond their end of life. The outdated nineties-era technology in which the current business registry now resides isn't just clunky and inefficient; it's simply not equipped to deal with modern-day cyberthreats. The Modernising Business Registers program was supposed to cost just under half a billion dollars and be completed in full by 2024. Early estimates suggest that the full delivery of the program may cost up to $1.5 billion and the full transfer of functions will no longer be able to occur until 2026. The previous Liberal-National government had plenty of opportunities to level with the Australian people about the time and cost delays in implementing this program that they were aware of under their watch. This billion-dollar stuff-up is now for the new federal government to fix, and we are in the early days of assessing options. This bill delays the full transfer of functions to the new registrar to 1 July 2026. We will keep Australians informed as we go about the important business of getting this project back on track.

It is schedule 3 of this bill that will by far have the most influential impact in our community, particularly on women and girls. As many of us in this place know, the FIFA Women's World Cup will be held in Australia and New Zealand in 2023. As part of a package of commitments to host the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023, the government is providing an income and withholding tax exemption to FIFA and a local Australian subsidiary. The exemption will be limited to income earned in relation to event activities—for example, in planning, holding and winding up the event. This will strengthen Australia's reputation as a host for major international sporting events and play a genuine and meaningful role in promoting women's sport. It is through major sporting events that we can inspire the next generation of young people, particularly young women, to participate in sport, and when it comes to major events for women and girls there is, frankly, nothing as big, as watched and as supported at the Women's World Cup.

The FIFA Women's World Cup is the largest women's sporting event in the world. The 2019 event in France was viewed by an incredible 1.12 billion viewers across the world, with next year's event in Australia likely to be the biggest ever, with many firsts. It will be the first Women's World Cup to be held in the Southern Hemisphere and the first to be co-hosted by two federations—the Asian Football Confederation, or AFC, which Australia belongs to, and the Oceania Football Confederation, or OFC, which New Zealand belong to. With 144 women's national teams entering the original qualification process, next year's tournament has been expanded for the first time to consist of 32 teams, who will play a record 64 games over five weeks.

The 2019 World Cup in France was viewed by an incredible 1.12 billion viewers globally, and next year's event in Australia will be bigger than that. The 2019 final between France and the USA was viewed by 63 million people across the world. To put this in perspective, the men's AFL grand final in 2021 between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs was viewed by 3.91 million people nationally, and day one of last year's men's Boxing Day Test for the cricket was viewed by 1.26 million people nationally.

With the event to be held from 20 July to 20 August in 2023, Football Australia has forecast the economic and social benefit of hosting the tournament to be at least $460 million. It is supporting thousands more jobs, skills and opportunities, especially for our tourism sector as it continues to recover from the impacts of the pandemic. The tournament will also provide tremendous trade and investment opportunities which we can leverage, particularly across our host states and cities. For my home state of Victoria, the event will provide significant benefits. Led by former Victorian Minister for Tourism and Major Events and for Sport, John Eren, Victoria proudly secured six matches to be held in Melbourne's AAMI Park, which will also feature the Matildas. Along with the new $115 million dollar home of women's football training base, which is currently being constructed at La Trobe University in Bundoora, Melbourne, it will be the epicentre of this global event.

Australia will be proudly represented at the tournament by the Matildas, ranked as the No. 1 sporting team in Australia for emotional connection and familiarity. Captained by 2018 Young Australian of the Year Sam Kerr, the Matildas will be cheered on by all Australians to go all the way, and will be sure to inspire the next generation of women and girls to play football and to get healthy and active. Matildas captain, Sam Kerr, said:

The opportunity to play in a home FIFA Women's World Cup is something every footballer dreams of, and I am looking forward to seeing those dreams come true. Playing for the Matildas in Australia will be the highlight of my career and an opportunity to inspire girls, both in Australia and New Zealand, and all over the world to play football. We have seen great progress in the women's game and Australia-New Zealand will take the game to a whole new level.

Participation in football among women and girls across Victoria is growing substantially. The most recent AusPlay data showed the number of females playing club based football—or soccer, for those AFL supporters—in Victoria had more than doubled in five years to 55,000, including 25,000 girls. While the Women's World Cup, supported by measures contained in the bill, will undoubtedly encourage more females to participate, I must also acknowledge the Victorian Labor government's landmark female-friendly change rooms program, which has played a driving role in getting more females involved in local sport.

The tournament will also help to inspire more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young women to play sport, with many First Nations players already having blazed a trail through football. Football Australia estimates that approximately 40,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country currently participate in football, with many more set to be inspired by the 2023 World Cup.

Harry Williams was the first Indigenous player in the Socceroos and, in 1974, was also a member of the first Australian team to play at a FIFA World Cup. Since Williams, a host of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander soccer players have made their mark on the game, including A-League and Socceroos star and Olympian Jade North, Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams, Kyah Simon, Travis Dodd, James Brown, Jada Whyman and Allira Toby.

In conclusion, I commend this bill to the House and I commend the measures contained in it. I particularly commend the support that this bill will provide to help Australia and New Zealand host a successful 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

r GALLAGHER (—) (): I'd like to begin by thanking senators who have contributed to this debate on the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022. Schedule 1 of the bill provides an income tax exemption for qualifying grants made to primary producers and small businesses affected by Tropical Cyclone Seroja, which had a devastating impact on communities in Western Australia between 11 and 12 April 2021. Affected primary producers and small businesses were eligible to receive recovery grants of up to $25,000, which were activated as a category C measure under the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangement 2018. Schedule 1 makes these qualifying grants non-assessable, non-exempt income for tax purposes. These grants provide support in addition to other assistance that the Australian and Western Australian governments have provided to assist communities as they begin to rebuild and recover following this devastating event.

Schedule 2 of the bill amends the Treasury Laws Amendment (Putting Consumers First—Establishment of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority) Act 2018 to support the practical closure of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal and any transitional arrangements associated with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority replacing the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal.

Schedule 3 of the bill is part of a package of commitments to host the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023, with the government providing an income and withholding tax exemption to FIFA and a local Australian entity. The exemption will apply to income in relation to the event. This event is a major international sporting event and will strengthen our international reputation, promote women's sport and provide opportunities to support Australia's economy.

Schedule 5 of this bill amends various laws in the Treasury portfolio to ensure that those laws operate in accordance with the policy intent, make minor policy changes to improve administrative outcomes or remedy unintended consequences, and correct technical or drafting defects. The amendments have been identified by Treasury portfolio agencies, the Office of Parliamentary Counsel and policy divisions within Treasury. This includes amendments that clarify the law to ensure it operates in accordance with the policy intent, make minor policy changes to improve administrative outcomes or remedy unintended consequences, and correct technical or drafting defects.

I commend the bill to the Senate.

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the second reading amendment moved by Senator McKim be agreed to.

Question negatived.

Original question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.