LINDA BURNEY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS:
Good morning everyone and thank you all for showing such interest in this devastating issue. Right now, there are many Aboriginal people in morgues because families and communities who were of the view that they were safe with this fund, in terms of burying their loved ones, have found out through the collapse of this despicable fund, that they are not in fact covered. So they are currently in morgues as we speak. What we're announcing today, and Minister Jones will go into the details of the announcement. What we're announcing today is the first of a two pronged approach that Labor will take to fix this problem. This company, commonly known as Youpla, has breached moral responsibility. It has breached cultural responsibility, and it has breached the trust of thousands and thousands of First Nations people. That is what has happened, and what we aren't doing, particularly with the leadership of Minister Jones, is looking at this issue and trying to find a way through it. And we are very grateful to the First Nations people that are helping us chart that path. I will get Minister Jones to outline the details of where we've gotten to. It's not the full answer, but it's a good way to dealing with the first tranche and the most important thing that we feel and that is families that are grieving that cannot bury their people, their loved ones. Minister Jones.
STEPHEN JONES, MINISTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES:
Thanks so much, Linda. One of the first priorities that came across my desk when I was sworn in as Minister a little over eight weeks ago, was how we resolve the Youpla issue. It didn't come to our notice first, when Linda and I are sworn in as ministers in December 2019. We wrote to the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg and invited him to work in a bipartisan way with Labor and with First Nations organisations because we could see back in December 2019, that as soon as the decision or the recommendation of the Hayne Royal Commission was implemented then the Youpla Group of Companies were going into insolvent. There's no way that we're going to get an Australian Financial Services license because they have a long track record. We knew about them, there was no way that we're going to be able to get ASIC registration. And they were going to fall over. The longer we left action, the more people were going to be left in a diabolical situation with loved ones dying, then thinking that they had financial protection to pay for the funeral, and were unable to do it. Unfortunately, inaction has just increased the number of people who've been left in this situation. So what we can do today is commit to engaging in a respectful consultative conversation with First Nations organisations about a long term solution to rectify the things that have gone on. A long term solution to ensure that people can bury their loved ones with dignity and in a culturally appropriate way that means so much to First Nations communities. So that might take some time, as Linda has said, there are families that need an answer today. So what Linda and I and Prime Ministers have agreed, is that we will effectively stand in the shoes of the insurer and will cover all claims that are made on the first of April, anybody who had a policy from the first of April 2020 through until 30 November 2023 we'll meet those claims. So First Nations families, who are grieving because of the loss of a loved one, at least know that the benefit, the insurance fund that they had, will be honored. And that will give us the time in that period between now and 30 November next year to have a conversation with First Nations communities so that we can put in place an enduring solution to this diabolical situation. I want to thank Mark Holden and Bettina particularly, for coming down to Canberra, coming down from Sydney to be with us today. We had a good long conversation with their organisations yesterday to go through the thinking and I'll invite them to respond. Thank you.
BETTINA COOPER, SAVE SORRY BUSINESS COALITION:
Mark and I are part of the Save Sorry Business Coalition which is supported by about 130 First Nations organisations. I have to say we are relieved and appreciative that this government has done something in two months which we've be waiting for a long time for an answer for. It's not the whole answer, it's the first step but the fact that we are able to pick up the phone and tell somebody 'hey, it's okay. There's a way you can bury your family. There's a way you can culturally appropriately do it and you don't have to take out loans, withdraw your super or have yourself further traumatised, it's okay'. This is a huge thank you we can give the, Minister Burney and Minister Jones have really got a heart for our people. And that's, that's a huge thing. It's not something we've experienced from the previous government. So we really do appreciate their efforts and we look forward to moving forward and having a more long term resolution for the other clients but this is, this is where we need to start and we're glad they heard our calls for urgent funding.
MARK HOLDEN, SAVE SORRY BUSINESS COALITION:
We want to be able to thank both Ministers as well too, for paying immediate attention to this. Six weeks in, on the job they came up with this interim solution here, but also as well, more importantly a commitment to engage with First Nations communities over the next 18 months to be able to work on this solution for this really horrific problem as well too. Bettina and I as well as other staff as well have been getting thousands of phone calls from people who've been so distressed, devastated and people who just want to be able to try and bury loved ones in a culturally appropriate way. These are people who are elders, who are so worried about our people going on, in a culturally appropriate way as well and a pauper’s funeral is no way to do that. So we really do appreciate that our Ministers to be able to try to be able to take the interim solution here of trying to be able to help those who have passed away already as well too. And we do look forward to trying to be able to engage more about this in the upcoming months as well.
JOURNALIST:
Mr. Jones, just a question for you, Mr. Jones. There have been complaints about Youpla for decades and ASIC has known about them for years. Why was nothing done from ASIC's perspective from the regulator's perspective for them essentially to be running for years and years and years, despite these complaints already being known about. Does there need to be some kind of investigation into ASIC as to why it took so long for us to get to this to this point?
JONES:
Thanks, look I put the question to the First Nations communities that we were consulting with yesterday. I said we want to fix this. We can hold a review into what's gone on, if that's what you need, for us to look into that. And what they came back to us in one voice was is to say, you can review if you like, but what's most important to us, is that we resolve the situation. So, Linda, and I will take some further advice on this. There is absolutely no doubt that for a large part of the last 30 years, this group of companies and directors was skating around the edges of regulation. They weren't a part, or they were exempt from the Australian Financial Services licensing regime until the first of April 2020. After the Hayne Royal Commission put a big flood light on what has gone on there. We will certainly be asking hard questions of the regulators and the agencies about exactly what was known and when, what action was taken. Some action has been taken over the last 30 years by state regulators and federal regulators. So I think it's fair enough to say, on any fair analysis, not enough.
JOURNALIST:
Minister, can you just walk through the details about how this will work on the ground? So like, people who are grieving today, what's the process in which they'll be able to access the funds? How quickly do they, do the burial first and then get reimbursed or not?
JONES:
Thank you for the question. I was going to raise this matter if somebody didn't ask it. It's going to take us a few weeks to put in place the mechanisms to make this happen and the Commonwealth Government has not been in the funeral business. And over the long term, it shouldn't be there, but over the short term we're going to have to put in place some payment mechanisms. So we'll work with First Nations communities to work out the most effective, efficient, culturally appropriate way to do that. There's going to be different needs. Somebody living in a remote community in North Queensland, with limited internet connection, telling somebody to go to a website is not the most effective way to make a claim. But if you're in the western suburbs of Sydney, it might be quite appropriate. So we'll just take some advice from First Nations organisations.
BURNEY:
Yes, I was just going to say that we're obviously engaging with the appropriate government agencies in terms of setting up a scheme that will work the best given the sorts of things that Minister Jones has spoken about, but I can assure you that this act of more than goodwill, this act of actually recognising there is an urgent need for families and communities, for people that have passed away, is what you're seeing today. We're talking to a number of government agencies that will be involved in administering the scheme, but I can assure you, there will be someone on the end of the phone line for people to talk to, and that's what we've been advised by our First Nations members. And that's what we will do.
JOURNALIST:
Minister Burney, there's been at least 31 families who have lost loved ones since Youpla's collapse, will they be entitled to this compensation scheme and just how soon will they be seeing some kind of (indecipherable)?
BURNEY:
Look thanks for that. Minister Jones has outlined, for those people that have an active policy between 1 April 2020 through November 2023, we believe that will cover the investigations we've done so far in terms of families and numbers of people. Obviously, we'll be sensitive to particular issues. In terms of timing, it's very much what we just said is that we are working as hard as possible. And with the appropriate consultation, on getting something stood up that will allow people to go through as you know, a very important part of Aboriginal culture, and that's sorry business. I can promise you that both Minister Jones and myself, are absolutely committed along with the Prime Minister to making sure that those families will get what they're justly deserving of. And that is a proper decent funeral, culturally appropriate because they can't do it at the moment because of the lack, the falling over of this particular fund.
JOURNALIST:
Just following up on that with the band of dates between April 2020 and 2023. Is that anyone who's had a claim active at that period of time, or is it that they have to have taken out a claim in that period of time.
JONES:
People aren't paying premiums now. So if you had an active policy as a first of April 2020
JOURNALIST:
So even if you’ve taken it out before 2020 yes, but it was still active?
JONES:
If your policy was valid as of 1 April 2020, then we will ensure that your claims are met, okay. If you want to know why we picked the first of April 2020. That's because that was the date at which Youpla was required to have a financial services license. And it was obvious to anyone who's been following this, they were never going to get it.
JOURNALIST:
Minister is this a concession or admission on the part of the government that, you know, they have some, you know, liability for what's going on here. Given that this company has been able to operate for 30 years as was mentioned earlier, despite, you know, regulatory action taken against it over that period. Is this is the government liable?
JONES:
You'll understand if I don't use words such as liability in a conversation like this. It's a recognition that the Albanese Labor government wants to fix a mess that exists today and doesn't want to do it in a way that prolongs grief and grieving and makes it more difficult for people to bury their loved ones, will have to go into further debt, will draw down on their super or borrow money off other family and loved ones. We want to put in place a pragmatic, practical, sensitive solution and we'll deal with a long term resolution and a conversation where people aren't worried about how they're going to bury a loved one who passed away.
BURNEY:
And that's what today is about.
JOURNALIST:
Can I ask you about the investigation that you will hold? What sort of investigation will that be? How will it sort of operate?
JONES:
My number one priority at the moment is to ensure we can get those payments flowing. We're new to government. I thought it would be simple, we just made a decision and this would happened the next day. Apparently it doesn't. And we've got to put in place mechanisms to get payments flowing. We're working on that as we speak. As far as how we go about ongoing issues, let's have a conversation with the First Nations people. If there are internal investigations about who knew what and when then yes, we can have a look at that. But my priority, one, two and three. My first priority, to use Linda's language, let's get bodies out of morgues and buried appropriately, culturally sensitively, and make sure the money flows. Secondly ensure that any new claims are met and any backdated claims are met. Thirdly, enduring solution and then after that we can start looking at who knew what and when and what should flow from there. It's also worthwhile pointing out that there is one ASIC investigation which is currently on foot against the former directors of this company. And there is also matters before the federal court in relation to the company itself.
JOURNALIST:
Are you confident though that this won't happen again, that the legislation and the oversight is such that we won't have a repeat (indecipherable)
JONES:
The reason that you have a regulator, that has some quite extraordinary powers, I've got to say, and the power to intervene in a product that is being marketed in a way which is structured in a way which is inappropriate or damaging to the community it's targeted at. ASIC now has those powers. It didn't have those powers way back in the 1990s when this organidation was established, so the reason you have a regulator, is that they can lean into these sorts of issues, because as soon as you create a law, unfortunately, there's going to be some sharp operator out there who's going to try and find a way to make a dishonest coin out of skating around the edges of the law.
JOURNALIST:
So you don't believe there are any holes, that everything's been patched up now?
JONES:
I'm not going to make that claim, nobody can stand here and say our laws are perfect, Parliament can go home because the laws are perfect. On this first day of this first parliament under an Albanese Labor Government, we'll be looking at all the areas and where the loopholes need to be covered off.
JOURNALIST:
So do you think that there needs to be regulatory change?
JONES:
Well, my first, second, third and fourth priority is sorting out the situation that we have with Youpla. If there are issues that need to be looked at, and again, through these conversations with First Nations community, we spotlight on some obvious loopholes or even some less obvious loopholes, yes, of course we're going to lean into those in closing them off.
JOURNALIST:
Can I just ask you on another issue, which I believe falls into your remit.
JONES:
Are there any other issues to do with Youpla or matters we're dealing with today? I will take your question.
JOURNALIST:
Can I get these two up to the mic just before potentially we switch to other issues. In your opinion, do you think that the standards that ASIC has at the moment and the powers that they have are suitable to stop this kind of thing happening in the future?
COOPER:
We called on the government to come up with an urgent solution for our First Nations people who have not been buried. That's been our primary focus at this point. If you stepped in my shoes and I went from taking 60 calls a day to a thousand calls in 10 days and every week, I get a call from somebody who's in palliative care and wants to know, what can they do because they don't want to leave the burden for their family. and every week I get a call from somebody who doesn't know how to bury a family. That's what we asked them to do. That's what we're focused on. In relation to regulatory stuff, that's secondary to the primary thing of cultural, what's culturally important at this point in time.
JOURNALIST:
Are you happy with what the government has delivered today? Would you call on them to go further in any aspect?
COOPER:
I'm happy that this government has listened. Previous governments have not. I'm happy that this government identify it as a cultural need and that the loss, sorry business and making it culturally, a hurdle because of this collapse. I'm pleased that they're actually looking and talking to us and talking to community and finding out, how can we deliver this in a way that is accessible, that is culturally appropriate and it doesn't have any digital exclusion. I don't think I could ask for more this day. This is the first step. We are going to continue to consult with them. We've got 18 months, we're going to continue to push the issues that need to be pushed to make sure everybody who's been has been covered that, this is what we asked for today and what we received today and what we need.
BURNEY:
Thanks, everyone.