Today the Shadow Minister against Superannuation has proved that he is also the Shadow Minister against Australia becoming a global financial services centre.
The Member for Cowper had 15 minutes to respond to my Ministerial Statement on Australia as a Financial Services Centre and what we got was 3 minutes on financial services - mainly an ancient history lesson - followed by 12 minutes of misinformation on the Resources Super Profits Tax.
He failed to provide a justification or reason for the Coalition's opposition to the Government's cutting of the interest withholding tax – a recommendation of the Australian Financial Centre Forum (AFCF).
The Coalition has nothing positive to say and no plans to promote Australia as a global financial services centre.
The Member for Cowper is simply not fit to take on the important responsibility of the financial services portfolio.
Young Australians who aspire to get well-paid, high skilled employment in our financial services sector need look no further than a Rudd Labor Government that has made growing and exporting our financial services a key policy priority.
The Rudd Government's policies to promote Australia as a regional financial services centre were part of an important election commitment; one we have delivered on, taken further, and are now in the process of responding to the AFCF Report.
As part of the 2010-11 Budget, the Government announced the establishment of the Centre for International Finance and Regulation as well as a phased cutting of the interest withholding tax, an initiaitive that is a response to the AFCF report and will boost competition in the banking sector.
The Government's response to the AFCF report also includes:
- the introduction of an Investment Manager Regime, providing greater certainty around the tax treatment of foreign funds managed by Australian investment managers;
- the establishment of an online regulatory gateway, providing domestic and international investors with a one-stop shop for basic information about the Australian market; and
- the development of an Asia Region Funds Passport, which would involve a multilateral framework to enable a complying retail investment fund in a country that signs up to the passport framework to offer its products in each of the other signatory countries.
2 June 2010