Speaking exclusively to ifa, small business minister Bruce Billson said the Senate’s decision to throw out the government’s amendments to FOFA does not detract from the impressive grassroots lobbying campaign conducted over past months by advisers and their representatives.
“The world is run by people who turn up and there’s no substitute for engaging in the process,” Mr Billson said.
“I’ve had lots of discussions with many advisers, as have my colleagues, and that’s the best way on ensuring that the impact of these changes are understood and reflect the interests of smaller and independent advisers.
“There are some very big and powerful and self-interested groups that are pushing hard for outcomes that are advantageous to their position, but excessive regulatory overreach and compliance burden lands most heavily on smaller providers and that’s why their voice is so important in this debate.”
The minister also said that the advice industry should broaden its messaging to focus more on the good work they do in communities throughout Australia.
“Your readers are trusted advisers to hundreds of thousands of individuals who appreciate their expertise, care and professionalism,” he said. “That is credibility and experience built up over time and that needs to get out there.”
The government remains committed to the FOFA amendments and will take the policy to the next election whenever that may be, the MP for the Melbourne seat of Dunkley confirmed.
“We will continue with this work,” he pledged, echoing recent sentiments from finance minister Mathias Cormann.
“The previous government’s overreach makes getting specialist advice more expensive and puts it out of the reach of the very people the parliament is seeking to protect.”
“Unlike the previous government we are always keen to engage with and learn more from the coalface.”
I share the sentiments below. I think all advisors thought that this would be a democratic process considering we live in the lucky country; but what we discovered was that key decision makers simply didn’t want to listen to our voice; which is ironic considering we are at the cold face and understand the key issues troubling every-day Australians. With the benefit of time you will now discover that great quality financial advice will no longer be attainable for people who need it most and jobs will be lost in a industry that supports so many families.
#PerceptionCorrection
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personally I am over the whole FOFA thing and self serving politicans and FPs…all I ever wanted to do as a financial planner was to help people achieve their goals…now I waste time achieving compliance goals of both dealer group and government…instead of opt in and fds why don’t we just have a letter of engagement…will we ever get back to being financial planners?
@ Rory…we too have done the same. Nothing..I’m not sure I was surprised, more disappointed than surprised.
Whenever any of them have been asked any questions on the subject matter by others their complete lack of understanding and prejudice is pretty clear.
Interesting isn’t it. I have written to Senators Muir, Lambie and Madigan on two occasions in respect of their position on FoFA and have had no response either time.
We talk Best Interest and they about self interest
GrFeds of financialeat to see someone sees the value we Fps add to the people of Australia and in most cases free the government coffers on pensions
Positive words.
In contrast I was part of a group of small business advisers in Ballarat who tried to get a meeting with Senator Madigan who is based here to discuss FOFA only to be told he wasn’t interested in taking meetings on this issue.
He was taking meetings alright! Just not with anyone with experience from an Advice perspective and its obvious that he had already settled his views in hindsight. Ah politics!!!…it just fills you with confidence….not!!!
Bruce Bilson’s comments are proof positive that neither party understands that the biggest impact of FOFA on practices is the chopping and changing. We look to government for definitive legislation- giving us a permanent solution, whether it’s FOFA mk1 or FOFA Lite- one way or the other !
It’s heartening to hear a politican articulate the situation so well.