THE HON.

BILL SHORTEN MP
LEADER OF THE OPPOSTION
MEMBER FOR MARIBYRNONG
CHRIS BOWEN
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR MCMAHON
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
PRESS CONFERENCE
THURSDAY, 3 JULY 2014
MELBOURNE
Su!"#$%& Commonwealth Bank Scandal; Tony Abbotts Unfair Budget; Asylum
Seekers; New Senate.
BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION& Good afternoon, everyone. It's
great to be here talking about a number of matters, including the Commonwealth
Bank's response, the comments about global multinational tax and the services
sector indexed today.
In terms of the Commonwealth Bank announcement, abor welcomes today's
announcement as an overdue step in the right direction. It does, however, falls short
of what's needed to protect consumers in !ustralia. "he onus should not be on
consumers to have to come forward and take the efforts to identify their own losses.
"he bank should be working with consumers, with people it has provided advice to
ensure that these people know their rights.
"his is a scandal of shocking proportions. "housands of people have lost their
money for no other reason than they trusted the advice and the institution that
provided the advice. "he Commonwealth Bank should, rather than simply rely on
consumers coming forward, contact all of the people that it has provided financial
advice to. "hat way, the Commonwealth Bank can avoid being accused of relying on
consumers simply giving up and not pursuing their rights.
But there is a bigger task here as well than #ust falling to the Commonwealth Bank.
"he $ederal Government needs to reconsider watering down protections for
consumers in the provision of financial advice. %rime &inister "ony !bbott has said
today that 'what we need are protections for mum and dad investors(. I couldn't
agree more. But if &r !bbott thinks that mum and dad investors need more
protections, why on earth is his Government watering down protections for
consumers of financial advice in this country) *hat will it take for the !bbott
Government to be on the side of ordinary people and consumers of financial advice,
and the good people in the financial planning industry, rather than taking the side of
institutions and vested interests who have manifestly failed consumers when it
comes to the debacle at the Commonwealth Bank)
But it's not only financial advice where this government needs to stand up. !t long
last we are seeing the first alleged reports of the Commonwealth Government, the
!bbott Government, taking on the very unfair issue of ensuring that multinationals
operating in !ustralia pay their fair share of tax. "he Government's first choice since
it got elected and in the Budget was to give a leave pass to multinationals who pay
little to no tax, but yet charge disability pensioners, working families, ordinary people,
charging them more taxes and less benefits. "his Government has got its priorities
all wrong. It should not be as a first priority slugging pensioners and battlers and
ordinary families, and it should follow abor's lead and tackle global multinationals
who are not paying their fair share of tax. +o,one believes it is fair that a giant mining
company like Glencore pays practically no tax in !ustralia, yet you have a small
business in the high street paying more tax. +o,one thinks it's fair when you have
large multinationals operating in !ustralia and other #urisdictions, paying little tax in
!ustralia, yet you've got pensioners and battlers paying the higher part of the burden
of this unfair budget. I invite my colleague -hadow "reasurer Chris Bowen to say a
few words on these matters and also talk about the services index today.
CHRIS BOWEN, SHADOW TREASURER& "hank you very much, Bill. .f course the
most important thing the $ederal Government can do, as Bill said, going forward is
ensure proper protections for consumers in financial advice. It's beyond belief that
against all the evidence and against recent events, &athias Cormann and the
Government are proceeding, continuing to proceed down this road, watering down
abor's well balanced, well designed protections for consumers in financial advice.
+ow, &athias Cormann is determined to engage in a dodgy and tricky process to
reach a bad outcome. /e secretly got the Governor,General to approve regulations
without announcing them, and my message to &athias Cormann today is very, very
clear. .n the first sitting day of the %arliament of the -enate, &athias Cormann
should table in the -enate, his regulations. !s soon as that occurs, abor will move
to disallow them. *e will fight his proposals, but he should stop the dodgy process.
/e shouldn't be sitting on these regulations, he should let the %arliament deal with it
immediately. !s soon as he tables them, we will deal with it and we will move
disallowance of his watering down of important consumer protections.
In relation to multinational tax, as Bill said, we welcome any back down by the
Government dragged kicking and screaming to deal with this issue, but we will look
closely at the detail. *e give fair warning to the Government. If this is #ust a re,
heating of previous announcements and previous policies and they don't correct the
01 billion gift to multinationals which they provided in their mid,year economic
forecast, then we will hold them to account for that. *e will look closer at the detail
presumably the "reasurer is announcing today, but we will abide by our principles
and values which tell us that multinationals operating in action should pay their fair
share of tax.
2ust briefly, I will deal with one other matter as Bill flagged. *e've seen for a time
that this is an unfair budget. *e have also said it is bad for the economy. *e are
seeing more evidence of this today. "he fourth consecutive retraction in the services
sector has been reported today. "his goes directly to the hit on consumer and
business confidence that we've seen because of 2oe /ockey's rhetoric and 2oe
/ockey's actions. "he !ustralian Industry Group made it clear that the public
perception of the $ederal Budget is dampening consumer confidence. *e've said
that all along. !ustralia(s services sector is vital to our economy 3 the fact that we're
seeing the fourth consecutive contraction in the services sector today #ust shows
what a bad budget this is for the economy. !lso announced a short time ago, retail
turnover fell 4.56 in &ay. /ere in 7ictoria, down 1.16. "his again goes to the impact
on people's confidence, consumers and business confidence of this Budget. *hen
2oe /ockey talks about a budget emergency, really what he has done is create a
budget emergency for states and families and has ensured that consumer
confidence has collapsed right across the country. "ony !bbott promised adrenaline
rush. *ell, some adrenaline, some rush. It's time for the treasurer to realise that it's
not only unfair, but fundamentally bad for our economy.
SHORTEN& "hanks Chris, are there any 8uestions)
JOURNALIST& 9o you think there should be a :oyal Commission into the
allegations surrounding the Commonwealth Bank)
SHORTEN& $irst of all, we think that the Commonwealth Bank's actions are an
overdue step in the right direction. But we also believe fundamentally that the
Commonwealth Bank should not be perceived as relying upon consumers having
given up, shrugging their shoulders saying, ;"here is no point trying to chase the
money we lost;. -o the Commonwealth Bank needs to proactively put the resources
into chasing up the people they gave advice to and letting them know what the
Commonwealth Bank is prepared to do. It is not enough to say, ;*ell, we're here.
*e're the bank. %eople who feel hard done by can come and find us.; "he
Commonwealth Bank needs to chase up the people they gave advice to.
-econdly, the Government needs to respond as a matter of urgency, as to what it
will do. *e don(t think the matter should rest here. *hether or not a :oyal
Commission is the right vehicle is still to be seen. *e need to see what the
Government's responses are, but again to reiterate what Chris has #ust said, it is a
complete #oke that the !bbott Government and -enator Cormann, at the very time
when the shocking details of the problems at the Commonwealth Bank are in full
light of day, that this government is saying ;*e will water down protection for
consumers;. "o the !bbott Government< how many victims of financial advice do you
need, before you will actually stand up for the victims and the consumers against the
vested interests)
JOURNALIST< "he system that we are using to compensate is to compensate
people back to a similar to what they were in. ! low,risk fund, which is can be less
than some invested. 9o you think it's greedy that they've failed to basically bring
people back to s8uare and that process under mines their credibility)
SHORTEN& I think on the plus side, the bank has finally recognised it needs to
change its processes and that, I understand, has begun to happen. But on the debit
side, what is needed here is the Commonwealth Bank to not #ust do the minimum
necessary but to have perceived to have managed the problem, but to do the best
possible practice that it can do to once again lift confidence in its brand. -ome
observers will say, ;*ell, it's done enough, and therefore no more needs to be
done.; But if I was one of the thousands of people who received advice from the
Commonwealth Bank, I'm not sure I would be satisfied with the bank saying, ;*ell,
it's in your court to see what you will do to follow up on the matter.; -o the
Commonwealth Bank needs to proactively, I believe, do more than it is.
But this is an issue not #ust about the Commonwealth Bank, this is an issue about
our $ederal Government. "he -enate in8uiry has come down and demonstrated
beyond reasonable doubt that there have been omissions and failings in the financial
system and the standard advice and the regulation around it was insufficient for the
behaviour of individual whose have ripped off others. -o what is now needed is for
this government not to water down protections for consumers. *hat is needed for
this government is to at least , if they don't care themselves, that's one thing, but at
least for the sake of the thousands of people who have been hard done,by, at so that
doesn't happen again, that this Government actually learns the lessons. -o I still
believe that this Government stands #udged poorly because of watering down
financial protections at the very time when the whole of !ustralia knows the financial
protections in the provision of professional advice need to be better, not worse.
JOURNALIST& &r Bowen, there is some suggestion that you offered support to the
Government for a :oyal Commission. Is that correct)
BOWEN& *hat we did was write to the Government, I wrote to the "reasurer early
this week and encouraged the "reasurer and $inance &inister to respond
expeditiously to the -enate in8uiry, not to delay the response and made it very clear
to the Government that we felt this needed to be dealt with as a matter of some
urgency. +ow, as Bill said, only governments can call :oyal Commissions,
.ppositions can't call :oyal Commissions. *hat we have said is that these options
need to be on the table as the Government's response has been inade8uate. +ow
&athias Cormann has said he found a =,page report saying there shouldn't be a
:oyal Commission persuasive from a iberal senator. /e ignored the 544,page
report based on 544 submissions which took 1> months to write and the iberal
senator didn't turn up for the key hearings, and hasn't spoken to the victims of the
Commonwealth Bank. I mean, this is disgraceful. -o what we are saying in a very
calibrated and careful way is that all options need to be on the table. ! :oyal
Commission should not be excluded from the options. *e wait to see the
Government's response, but want to see it very soon.
JOURNALIST& &r -horten, can I ask you about superannuation) *hat did you think
about the call from the !ssociation of -uperannuation $unds to limit contributions
into the funds at 0>.5m to curtail the tax brackets being available)
SHORTEN& -uperannuation is one of the three pillars of retirement income policy in
this country, along with encouraging private savings and a robust !ge %ension. +ow,
this is a Government who has shown every desire to wreck retirement incomes in
!ustralia. $irst of all, they're lowering the rate of increase to the pensions so it is
effectively a cut in real terms, so that undermines that pillar and when it comes to
superannuation, the Government is free?ing increases in superannuation, so @.56 is
where they are capping superannuation increases at. "hat means that a lot of people
in their >4s, A4s, B4s, and 54s will have smaller superannuation account balances
when they retire, so that's another cross. -o when we also see them putting new
taxes on A.5 million low,income !ustralians, this is a Government who is determined
to wreck the retirement income prospects for !ustralians. By the same token, when it
comes to the top end where very few people have millions and millions and millions
of dollars in superannuation, this is a government that is giving them a tax cut. *e
note !-$!'s position. abor had a policy before the last election which is if you have
a certain amount in your superannuation that is generating an income of more than
0144,444 a year, you should pay a modest tax. *e think that the !-$! position is
food for thought, it isn(t our policy. "here is no doubt that this is a Government who if
you have a lot of money, they will look after you, and if you don't have a lot of money,
then you're on your own.
JOURNALIST& -o does that mean you're favourably to consider it or embrace it)
SHORTEN& It's early days for us to start talking about our tax policies C we(ll work on
them. abor is fundamentally committed to increasing superannuation. But it(s fair to
say that our priority is for the @5,@D6 of !ustralians who don't have enough in their
superannuation for their retirement yet, rather than worrying about the 1 or >6 who
are already well off. But this is a Government which is cutting pensions, putting new
taxes on low,income earners superannuation and free?ing superannuation, so this is
a dangerous government when it comes to the retirement dreams of millions of
!ustralians.
JOURNALIST& &r -horten, can I ask you about the reporting of new union
corruption claims. Is that a worry for you and is it time for the 7ictorian abor party in
particularly, to distance itself from the C$&EF 3 is this damaging 9aniel !ndrews(
chances of winning the election in +ovember)
SHORTEN& *ell, I won't comment about -tate abor matters, I will leave that to
9aniel !ndrews. But let me say with the :oyal Commission as I've said on previous
occasions< everyone knows that "ony !bbott's :oyal Commission into trade unions
has commenced. I won't be providing a running commentary on every day's
evidence or leaks about what future evidence may be. But I have said in the past,
this :oyal Commission will be a platform for people to settle scores, there will be lots
of evidence, some of it will be right, some will be wrong, and it really wouldn't be
appropriate for me to be commenting on every day , to give a running commentary
everyday.
JOURNALIST& !re you concerned that a lot of information is leaking from the royal
commission before being put to it)
SHORTEN& !gain, I will #ust refer to the previous answer. "hat will be for the :oyal
Commission to how it handles the evidence and processes and procedures. It is a
platform for people to settle old scores. I won't be making a running commentary on
the ins and outs of each piece of evidence as it gets reported in each format.
JOURNALIST& Can 9aniel !ndrews win the -tate Election)
SHORTEN& I believe 9aniel !ndrews can win the next -tate election. I think it will be
a tight contest, but when you look at the issues that matter to 7ictorians, which is
good schools, good hospitals, good infrastructure, that -tate abor will have
competitive policies at that election.
JOURNALIST& &r -horten, what do you make of reports that "amil asylum seekers
have been handed back to the +avy of -ri anka)
SHORTEN& I think regardless of anyone's politics in this country, the conduct of the
Immigration &inister to go into hiding this week when !ustralians want to know
what's happening on their borders is disgraceful. I could not have imagined a set of
circumstances previously where you would have a Commonwealth &inister who is
happy to be around when the news is good by his definition, but when there is
controversy #ust simply won't answer up to !ustralians what's happening. It is a
disgrace that we do not know what is going on.
JOURNALIST& If it is true, do you think that it is something the !ustralian +avy
should be engaged in)
I do not know what is the fact and what is fiction when it comes to this Government(s
protection of our borders( security. .nly one person can tell us what is going on and
that is -cott &orrison. I think it is a disgrace that this &inister isn(t doing his day,#ob
and tell !ustralians what is going on. It has gone on for days and days. *hen you
get more information from the media than the Government, I think this an outrage.
JOURNALIST& *ould abor ever consider handing "amil refugees over to the -ri
anka Government or +avy)
SHORTEN& I think we're two hypotheticals away from the issue now to say if this
happened and if abor was in power, what would abor do. !t this stage what
!ustralians need, what all !ustralians need is for -cott &orrison to stop hiding and
tell !ustralians the truth.
JOURNALIST& "ony !bbott has said that he is confident that !ustralia is acting
within its international obligationsG do you have the same confidence)
SHORTEN& *ell, "ony !bbott knows what's going on and the rest of !ustralia don't.
"ony !bbott and -cott &orrison should stop treating !ustralians like mushrooms and
#ust tell us what is going on.
JOURNALIST& *hy do you think George Brandis has been put in charge of
negotiating with the crossbenchers)
SHORTEN& *ell, I have heard that George Brandis and Eric !bet? will lead a charm
offensive with the crossbenchersG with those two, it's all offensive and no charm.
JOURNALIST& "ony !bbott has said that he can see a friendship developing with
:icky &uir, is abor reaching out to those crossbenchers at all)
SHORTEN& $irst of all, we haven't done what the Coalition has done and started
insulting the whole of the crossbench. *e will do what is in the best interests of
!ustralia. *e will be consistent with our policies. *e will continue to oppose this
rotten, unfair budget. *e will take our positions for !ustralians not to pay more at the
petrol bowser, not paying a G% tax. *e will do what is in the national interest. I am
sure the good will of those on the crossbench will listen carefully to what we have to
say.
JOURNALIST& Can I ask a 8uestion for the colleague in *!, why are you not
attending the *! -tate abor Conference this weekend 3 are you snubbing them for
the second year in a row)
SHORTEN& I wasn(t the leader last year. I'm in +ew Healand at the same time as the
%erth conference is and I look forward to visiting *! many times in the remainder of
this year.
"hanks, everyone.
ENDS