LNP goads Govt with bipartisan support for QAR implementation

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor/Publisher, Financial Newswire

24 March 2023

The Government has been promised bi-partisan support if it moves to implement the Quality of Advice Review recommendations substantially in their present form.

The Federal Opposition has reinforced the offer of bipartisanship amid the Parliamentary debate over the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) at the same time as strongly criticising the Government for having effectively delayed any action by saying it wants even more consultation.

The Federal Opposition claimed that under Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, the QAR final recommendations were at risk of simply gather dust.

Opposition financials services minister, Stuart Robert said during debate in the House of Representatives that he had already signalled the Coalition’s support for the QAR recommendations.

“I have already informed the government that the coalition will support legislation to implement the reforms in full as recommended right now,” he said. “The government needs to get on with it. By delaying the implementation of Dr Levy’s recommendations, the Assistant Treasurer and this government are denying Australians the opportunity to seek affordable, quality advice at a time when Australians are already finding it tough to meet cost-of-living challenges.”

“This is, frankly, the Labor government squibbing it. The Assistant Treasurer is seeking consultations upon consultations. As we have seen since the Assistant Treasurer started in this job, everything he touches stuffs up,” Robert said.

“If he can’t get on with the job of delivering for Australians, and not for those masters in the union movement, it is time the Prime Minister stepped in and put in someone competent who can.”

Most of the financial planning and accounting groups have called on the Government to pursue easy wins with respect to the QAR recommendations but the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP) has been urging the Government to take its time to get it right.