The Federal Government has recommitted to delivering on the Financial Markets Report regime evolving out of the so-called Johnson Report – the first time it has been flagged as a policy priority since January last year.
The Government's agenda was first flagged by the Minister for Financial Services, Bill Shorten, in January last year.
Addressing a Financial Services Council function at Parliament House in Canberra last night, Shorten committed to the change arrangement at the same time as acknowledging the importance of the financial services industry to the broader economy.
He said that one of the reasons the Australian economy was prospering was that the financial services industry had been delivering in terms of employment generation and that it had sought to hold on to jobs in tough times.
"Financial services has been one of the quiet achievers ever since the global financial crisis," he said.
The Opposition spokesman on financial service, Senator Mathias Cormann, welcomed Shorten's recommitment to the changes and said that the Coalition would be similarly pursuing the objective when it gained Government.
He pointed out that the Government had given its initial commitment in January last year, and it was beyond the time that the policy objective was ultimately delivered.
Cormann said the Coalition saw the initiative as vital to ensuring Australia became a regional financial service hub.
"We have said for some time that we support Australia becoming a genuine financial services hub for the Asia-Pacific region," he said.
