Ms MADELEINE KING (Brand) (15:15): I rise today to introduce this matter of public importance—namely, the government's failure to reform payday lending. It is an undeniable matter of fact that the government have failed to reform payday lending. There are no ifs and no buts. They had the opportunity to reform the payday-lending sector, which preys upon the vulnerable consumers of Australia. They created their own admirable opportunities to introduce payday-lending reform. But it's not like they've crab-walked away. No, they've gone much further than that. They have gone into a full, fast retreat down the road, led by the Liberal 'parliamentary friends of payday lending', convened by their general, the Assistant Treasurer, opposite me here today. Mr Robert interjecting— Ms MADELEINE KING: Yes, you run the parliamentary friends of payday lending, and we do know that. We can just have a quick look back at the history of payday-lending reforms that have been introduced in the interests of consumers in this country. In government, Labor enacted the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. For the first time in Australia, that act implemented a national regime for the regulation of consumer credit. Labor strengthened the regime in 2012 in response to growing concerns about improper behaviour by payday lenders, including by strengthening protections for consumers of these products. Part of Labor's plans—you might like to know, Assistant Treasurer—also mandated a built-in review mechanism of the new national consumer credit protection regime. That review commenced in 2015 under the Turnbull government. The Review of the small amount credit contract laws was handed to the government in March 2016, and the government published its response in November 2016. Today marks over three years, or 1,173 days, since this reform process started with that credit contract review. And today marks yet another day that this government has failed to protect Australian consumers. It's another shameful day that rests on this government. We all know on this side of the House that those on very low incomes have little capacity to absorb financial shocks such as your car breaking down— Mr Bowen interjecting— Ms MADELEINE KING: yes, an unexpected internet bill, perhaps—or a dentist bill or the like. With little disposable cash after the bills are paid and with few savings put away for a rainy day, one of the obvious options is a payday loan. We've all seen the ads, sadly: 'Just Nimble it.' These loans are often in conjunction with further loans and include crippling interest fees and penalties. Financial Counselling Australia—I know that many people in this House, I think especially on this side of the House, have gone and visited a financial-counselling service, and I'm yet to see how many from the other side of the House have taken up that opportunity—have shared many case studies that set out what is happening to vulnerable lenders in the Australian community. They get involved in, sadly, multiple contracts for payday loans. These contracts show exorbitant interest rates that take advantage of their vulnerable financial situations. They underestimate their living costs. They miscalculate their financial situation. This leads to overdrawn-account dishonour fees, further entrenching vulnerable Australians into larger and larger debt. It is a vicious cycle. It is a terrible circle of debt that people are unable to climb out of. There are many harrowing examples of the predatory behaviour seen from these payday loan sharks. We know that, just this week, Cash Converters settled a class action for $16 million due to charging customers interest rates upwards of 600 per cent. It's an absolute disgrace. There are now over 800,000 Australian households who have fallen victim to the payday-lending rip-off. This number has more than doubled in the past decade, including 150,000 new households in Australia signing up for payday loans in the last 18 months alone. Then, of course, there are the rent-to-buy consumer leases that we're all well aware of. This is where a consumer can enter into an arrangement by which they rent a consumer good—a vacuum cleaner, a fridge, a dishwasher or whatever—from a company. They rent for a period, and at the end of the period they get to keep that good. It's becoming increasingly common with mobile phones and therefore attractive to younger people. Many popular rent-to-buy schemes involve extreme repayment requirements, with customers often paying far more than face value for the products, up to 884 per cent more than their retail value, let alone their wholesale value. So fridges that may cost $1,000 end up costing a lender $6,000. A dryer worth $345 has reportedly cost someone more than $5,000. It's an absolute shame. This is all going into the pockets of the payday lenders and rent-to-buy rip-off merchants. Sometimes these things can play a valuable role in helping to smooth out the challenges in people's budgets. But they are not just for essential goods. These have proliferated into covering extra-large TVs. What have we seen in the stories we have heard from Financial Counselling Australia and other organisations that seek to help people in financial distress? Customers are solicited. They may have got a whitegood, an essential good, but then they are solicited by SMS messages for non-essential products, such as gaming consoles, oversized televisions or electronic devices. Consumers are locked into multiple long-term contracts, paying excessive rental repayments at rates well above retail prices and additional personal loan repayments. Financial counsellors have told us that: In addition to this rental companies are often only providing clients on a Centrelink income with one option for payment, via Centrepay deductions. The direct implication is that the rental company is receiving their payment as a priority over rent, electricity, food and medications. Ms Rowland: That's wrong. Ms MADELEINE KING: That is very wrong. This is what our financial counsellors around this country, those people working at the coalface, helping out people in financial distress, see every day. Rental companies are being bankrolled by the government through exorbitant fees and charges paid out directly through Centrepay. It's a disgrace and it needs to be stopped. Some small amount credit contract providers will waive fees and create a special payment scheme for people in extreme circumstances, with companies such as Good Shepherd Microfinance trying to help out people in budget distress. What we need is robust consumer protections. However, this Morrison government just sits by and does nothing, just like the two governments before it, led by Prime Ministers Abbott and Turnbull. Vulnerable Australian families are continuing to be ripped off every day by the loan sharks in this out-of-control industry. Reforms such as this are vital to protect Australian consumers, yet the government have done nothing on this. Well, actually, they started doing things on this and then they more than crabwalked away; they ran away at high speed. Labor have introduced a private member's bill which replicates the bill brought to this parliament in draft form by Minister O'Dwyer. The member for Indi introduced a similar private member's bill this week. The government could have supported our private member's bill, it could have brought on its own legislation or it could have supported the member for Indi's legislation. We know the member for Oxley has been conducting community roundtables on this issue. My colleague Senator McAllister, alongside the shadow minister for financial services, Clare O'Neil, and I have announced an inquiry to examine financial services that were excluded from the terms of reference of the royal commission. That Senate inquiry will look at things that include payday lending rorts. It seems that everyone in this place is willing to govern and to progress reform to protect the vulnerable consumers of this country except the government itself. This is a government far more interested in its own party than Australian consumers. The Assistant Treasurer, gift cards aside, has done next to nothing for Australian consumers except to ensure that payday reform in this country does not happen. We know he's been very busy doing the numbers in the previous challenges for the leadership of the Liberal Party. It's unsurprising, though, considering his personal stake in the loan rip-off scheme. The Assistant Treasurer was part of the irate backbencher revolt when Minister O'Dwyer had guardianship of the payday reforms. Who could forget that role of 'parliamentary friends of payday lending'? It was yet another example of the chaos and dysfunction of the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government. It's such a shambles they have small groups of backbenchers rolling decisions of cabinet. What a way to run a country! It's a disgrace. As I said at the start, it's been 1,173 days since this government began the process of reform, and now we hear the Assistant Treasurer is going to wait for the outcome of the royal commission to do anything. That will take us to about 1 February, and that's only when you start thinking about the response to the royal commission. All this government is doing is ensuring it will do nothing to reform payday lending. It's doing nothing. By the Assistant Treasurer's own time line, he will not respond, he will not produce any reform to payday lending, he will not bring in the legislation his own government produced two years ago. He just puts it off to the never-never. What we do know, what Australians can be assured of, is that the Liberal government will never ever reform payday lending. They will never work to protect Australian consumers from payday loan sharks. It's a crying shame and they should just quit.