Opposition not at war with Industry Super Network

The Opposition is not trying to wage a war against industry superannuation funds, but the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) bill has to be fair across the entire industry, said Shadow Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation Mathias Cormann.

In his address to the Association of Financial Advisers National Conference 2011, Cormann also said it was important for the Government to undertake the Ripoll Inquiry following the collapse of Storm Financial in 2009, but criticised the Government for not providing further details on the best interest duty.

"The Coalition was quite surprised when the FOFA legislation finally hit parliament a couple of weeks ago, the one thing that was removed was any provisions to do with the best interest duty," he said.

In adopting opt-in, Cormann said the Government did not embrace its proposed implementation on a strategic consideration, and the Opposition was opposed to it. The senator said the provisions on opt-in were based on lobbying by the Industry Super Network, and he accused the Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, Bill Shorten, of pursuing a vested interest.

"He [Shorten] is chopping and changing, going backwards and forwards, and even after all these years of process we still can't get the whole comprehensive legislation," he said.

Cormann said the Opposition had recommended that the FOFA legislation be sent to a Parliamentary Committee for public enquiry, and the Government needed to explain themselves more adequately in regards to pursuing an opt-in policy that was not part of the initial Parliamentary Joint Committee inquiry. 

Cormann also accused the Government of implementing policies that unfairly targeted boutique advisers and were not in the best interests of the public.

"There's still a battle to be won, and there is certainly a war to be won," he said.