Senator Nick Sherry, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, has today expressed deep concern over the Opposition's reckless but failed attempt to delay the passage of critical legislation to ban naked short selling, expand the corporate watchdog's powers and improve the disclosure of short selling.
"Malcolm Turnbull has sunk to new lows of economic irresponsibility by playing cheap politics with a Bill that fills a potentially dangerous gap in our corporate laws left open for many years."
"Mr Turnbull might think of himself as a very clever politician but today he attempted to deliver nothing but uncertainty to our markets, just at a time when what they need most is confidence and clarity."
"The Greens and Senators Xenophon and Fielding have stepped up and joined the Government to defeat Malcolm Turnbull's reckless attempts to create uncertainty this year."
"This Bill stands to protect retail investors and Australian companies. If the Opposition had succeeded today, there would not be a clear legislative regime for the disclosure of short selling, with real penalties for abuse, until as late as mid-2009."
"It is critical that this Bill is passed to deliver certainty to the market and to allow Treasury to commence further detailed consultations with industry about the details of the Regulations," said Minister Sherry.
The Corporations Amendment (Short Selling) Bill 2008 includes three key measures:
- a legislative ban on naked short selling;
- a clarification and expansion of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission's powers, and
- a comprehensive disclosure regime for permitted covered short selling, including placing a positive obligation on brokers to enquire of a client whether a sale is a covered short sale when a client places an order, and a direct obligation on market operators to publicly disclose short selling information they obtain from brokers;
"The Opposition's political play on this Bill was revealed yesterday when they asked a wide ranging series of questions during an Economics Committee hearing under the pretence of genuinely seeking to form a view on the Bill. But an over-zealous Opposition Senator got ahead of himself and hours before the evidence was even complete lodged a Notice of Motion to delay the Bill.
"At a time when the global financial crisis is hitting real people hard, such as through their superannuation accounts, this measure will deliver the certainty that is required," said Minister Sherry.