Australian Government to slash protection for consumers

Financial planners can get back to fleecing consumers

After recent scandals at Commonwealth Bank’s wealth management business, a Senate committee has recommended that the Abbott Government loosen the regulation of Australia’s 17,000 financial planners.

They want to water down legislation (known as the Future of Financial Advice reforms), passed by the former Gillard Government.

This tightened oversight of planners and other professionals who market wealth management products to the public.

The government seem intent on fast-tracking its overhaul by proclaiming new regulations.

They may try to avoid having to negotiate a compromise with minority parties in the upper house by using changes to regulations. The cloak of regulation would be a back door method avoiding examination by the very consumers it's supposed to protect.

The reforms involved a significant watering down of protection for consumers in an industry which had wiped billions from families in the last decade.

This is all about trust in the industry, an industry that was cleaned up by the legislation put in place by the previous government.

We will once again be unable to trust advice given on credit cards, home insurance or bank accounts.

Once again we are seeing what open government means to this government and we are also seeing what governing for the people means.

This Coalition believes that ethics is a baby that should be thrown out with the bath water.

WHAT IS WORSE THAN NO ETHICS

NOTHING