Mathias Cormann accuses Bernie Ripoll of contradictions
The Federal Opposition claims the Government is asking it to vote on financial services legislation some of its own most senior members have previously not seen fit to support.
The Opposition spokesman on Financial Services, Senator Mathias Cormann, said the former chairman of the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) on financial services, Bernie Ripoll, had used his new position as Parliamentary Secretary to call on the coalition to support the passage of the Consumer Credit and Corporations Legislation Amendment (Enhancement) Bill 2011.
However, he said Ripoll as chairman of the PJC had said the bill should not be supported in its present form, particularly with respect to payday lending.
Cormann said the contradictory positions adopted by Ripoll were indicative of Government confusion and paralysis.
He said all the Government needed to do was remove those schedules of the bill dealing with pay day lending - consistent with the recommendations of the PJC - and the Coalition would support the legislation's passage.
"Despite being handled by a succession of assistant treasurers in the past, these important changes have now been delegated to a Parliamentary Secretary who seems to not know what delays have occurred before him, but has also forgotten his own views and recommendations on the changes," Cormann said.
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