SCOMO MUST BACK SACC

Federal Labor is outraged at the Liberals’ paralysis around the proposed reforms to the pay day lending and rent-to-buy industry. Notwithstanding that the reforms have bipartisan support, reports have emerged that the Government’s conservative rump is scrambling to jeopardise their implementation.

 

The Government has had the Small Amount Credit Contract Review in its possession since March 2016. They have known for years that vulnerable consumers are being ripped off through payday loans and rent-to-buy schemes.

 

They have also known that welfare recipients are being left financially crippled by predators who lock unsuspecting mums and dads into rent-to-buy schemes that result in them paying up to 800 per cent more for a washing machine or a fridge than it is worth.

 

The Government agreed to do something about it. Nothing has been done, despite the fact the worst excesses of these practices could have been fixed with the stroke of the Ministers pen as far back as November 2016.

 

The Government also knows that the Centrepay system is being used by predatory lease providers to recover funds from vulnerable welfare recipients who should never have been assessed as being eligible for credit.

 

Now, in the absence of any reform in this area, taxpayers are under even more pressure because rent-to-buy consumers have to resort to additional payments in order to survive.

 

This situation has gone on for far too long and was entirely preventable, had the Government acted on the recommendations of the SACC review, provided to them back in March 2016.

 

Worse still, while the Government pledged to introduce these reforms, only months after the release of draft legislation, they are making noises about backsliding.

 

One of two things is happening here – either we have a Government that just does not care about vulnerable members of our community, or the conservative forces in the Government have won and they want to shut this down.

 

Labor calls upon the Government to immediately confirm that the proposed legislation will be introduced in to Parliament without and further delay.