Speaking in parliament ahead of this week’s second failed FOFA disallowance motion, the independent South Australian senator reiterated his opposition to the proposed amendments and called on his fellow cross-benchers to hold off on their support.
“I plead with my crossbench colleagues — the Palmer United Party senators and Senator Muir from the Motoring Enthusiast Party — to support this disallowance and to consider deferring supporting any legislative changes to the FOFA legislation until we hear further from David Murray and his financial services inquiry,” Senator Xenophon said.
Mr Xenophon also requested that his colleagues defer the vote until after the tabling of the much-anticipated ASIC report into the life insurance and risk advice sectors, expected to be released in coming days.
More broadly, he reiterated his concerns about the amendments, calling the underlying motives of the legislation into question.
“I fear the government has been putting industry certainty ahead of consumer protection. I suggest that the financial services industry is big enough and ugly enough to look after itself and that consumers are the ones government should be providing with certainty and adequate protections,” he said.
The disallowance motion was ultimately defeated by 36 votes to 32, with PUP and the MEP supporting the government, along with cross-benchers Bob Day and David Leyonhjelm.
Nick Xenophon and his ignorant comments should serve as a reminder to us of how detrimental it can be to allow ourselves to be controlled by these clueless independents. It’s unbelievable that he would play into the hands of the Labor Party and unions and work against the small independent advisers when he himself is supposedly “an independent”.
I suggest that Nick Xenophon considers the small business owner in financial services before he states that it is “big enough and ugly enough”. In a FOFA world we have seen how the changes have put the squeeze on smaller advice groups… I thought Nick was all about the “little guy”..?