The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Chris Pearce, has slammed the ALP's Laurie Ferguson following ill-informed and irresponsible public statements.
In a media release, Mr Ferguson made a number of concerning assertions, which amount to irresponsible, misleading and inaccurate representations.
Firstly, Mr Ferguson's claim that the Federal Government was in some way culpable for large corporate collapses is a complete fallacy. It is this Government, through the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program and broader financial sector reform, which has put in place a principles-based framework to facilitate continued strong economic growth.
The Australian Government has put in place a world standard corporate governance and disclosure regime, supported by well funded regulators and support schemes for employees.
We support ASIC's role as the corporate watchdog – reflected by significant funding increases over recent years. Funding for ASIC has increased by 74 per cent over the past 10 years.
The Australian Government has also boosted its commitment to protecting employee entitlements with an additional $62 million in funding to enhance the range of entitlements available to employees under the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS).
Mr Ferguson's sideswipe at the government is further proof that Labor want to scrap a scheme that has provided support to Australian workers. Since we introduced the first federal employee entitlements scheme in January 2000, over 54,000 Australian workers have received in excess of $661 million in assistance for their entitlements lost due to the insolvency of their employer.
Secondly, I welcome Mr Ferguson to the party on a single entry point for financial industry complaints. Had he checked his facts he would have discovered the single central telephone number 1300 780 808 which brings together the Financial Industry Complaints Scheme, Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman and the Insurance Ombudsman Service.
Thirdly, in relation to consumer product safety, I hail Mr Ferguson's endorsement of the Productivity Commission's Study of the Consumer Product Safety System that I commissioned a whole year ago! This study has reported its findings so, again, Mr Ferguson is either attempting to ride on the coat-tails of our work or he is ignorant of the facts.
Whilst I greet Mr Ferguson's entrance into the national debate on these important issues, I encourage him to cast away his 'dead-wood' tag and check his facts, Mr Pearce said.
MELBOURNE
17 March 2006
Media contact: Gillian Harvey 03 9887 3890