Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Dastyari for that question. Of course Mr Murray is right, which is why we have kept, in our improvements to our financial advice laws, all the consumer protections that matter but have cut all of the unnecessary red tape which is just pushing up the cost of advice—making it harder for people across Australia, who are saving for their retirement and managing financial risks through life, to access high-quality advice. What we have done in our improvements is keep the requirement for advisers to act in the best interests of their clients. We have kept the ban on conflicted remuneration. So what the government has done is entirely consistent with the observations that Mr Murray has made and that I agree with.

We have also cut all of the vested interest driven red tape that Labor imposed on the financial services sector. We have achieved $190 million in savings a year, which means that we will be able to drive down the cost of advice for people across Australia saving for their retirement. People will be able to access advice that is high quality and more affordable, which means that more of their own money will remain available for their retirement—rather than fund all of the vested interest red tape that Senator Dastyari's friends in union dominated industry funds are so keen to impose on everybody else.