Letter from FSC CEO Sally Loane - I want to thank members and the FSC team for an heroic effort in putting together no less than 24 submissions in response to Hayne and other proposals in the first eight weeks of the year.
We have also issued 19 media releases on our work to date - I am sure everyone is in no doubt this was no ordinary year's start.
The Government is set on pushing through its Royal Commission legislative agenda by the end of 2020. This is setting punishing and at times unrealistic timetables for members' businesses. While we understand the political urgency of getting the Hayne agenda in place, we nonetheless urge the Government to hasten slowly and do everything in its power to avoid the unintended consequences of a combination of over-reach; a complex new set of laws overlaid on existing ones; and rushed and poorly drafted legislation, which will do nothing for consumers. As Professor Pamela Hanrahan said recently: "We need to have better law, not just more law."
The FSC policy team has been busy in Canberra advocating across the aisles and the crossbench for our members and our policy positions. High on the agenda is the Financial Accountability Regime, Design and Distribution Obligations, Compensation Scheme of Last Resort, RG97 and last but by no means least, superannuation's Default Once (the only Hayne recommendation the Government has not yet tackled). We are compiling a growing list of unintended consequences of poor legislative drafting, as well as legislative over-reach where we believe the Government has gone beyond Hayne, and are working hard to ensure our views are heard and considered in Treasury and on the Hill.
The FSC Board and all the Board Committees met in February, and endorsed policy priorities for the year. We have been busy ensuring our positions are heard in the media, and correcting the record when we need to.
Finally, a warm thank you to the more than 100 members who attended our Member Drinks last month and huge thanks to EY for hosting the event. It was a very positive way to start what is going to be an intense and busy year.
Regards,
Sally