Victorian MP, Kelly O’Dwyer, will replace Josh Frydenberg as Assistant Treasurer in the new Turnbull Cabinet, announced today.
Ms O’Dwyer, who currently serves as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, will also succeed Bruce Billson as the country’s Small Business Minister.
In other Treasury-related appointments, Scott Morrison replaces Joe Hockey as Treasurer, while Senator Mathias Cormann has retained his Finance Ministry portfolio. Assistant Minister to the Treasurer will be NSW MP, Alex Hawke.
Meanwhile, former Assistant Treasurer Frydenberg has been promoted into the Prime Minister’s Cabinet as the Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia, while Senator Arthur Sinodinos, who held responsibility for the financial services sector until the end of 2014, has emerged as the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Secretary.
Riskinfo will report further updates as the week unfolds, having recently received confirmation in an interview with outgoing Assistant Treasurer Frydenberg that the Government was set to announce its formal response to both the Financial System Inquiry and Life Insurance Framework proposals later this month (see: Government Reaffirms Commitment to Existing Level Commission Structure).
Can we hear the drums Fernando ?? The AFA and FPA will never have a better opportunity to challenge the previous ridiculous proposed legislation and the onerous level of uncertainty it puts on the retail risk market and its advisers.
This could almost be “deemed” Devine intervention. For all our sakes implore the associations to take up the challenge and re visit this for a sensible outcome
One would hope that as Small Business Minister, it will be Ms Kelly’s duty to support we advisers who are small business.
The ridiculous nature with which political parties have driven us as advisers into the ground is nothing short of disgraceful and pathetic. If Ms O Dwyer has any the skills and competance we believe of her, she will address serious flaws in our business processes. Address the overlaps and paper war we are all experiencing while still ensuring integrity in the industry is not compromised. As to the professional associations, it is time they to stood up for all of us and not merely roll over. This is a great industry that can do so much for our clients in terms of protecting and helping them create wealth. That makes for a society less dependent on social security assistance and less tax dollars supporting benefits. We were told by then Abbott that Australia was open for business. Only to discover the door is hard to open and the hinges are rusty. We were told by Hockey that business should rely on Free Market forces and that they the Liberal party will reduce the red tape when in office. We are yet to see this in reality with red tape removed referring largely to superficial regulations enacted over the last 20 years. The Australian Business Council when Abbott was in office was un-impressed. With Australia moving closer to recession as has other commodity driven nations, lets hope Turnbull and the new liberal party now reshaped can do more than give us nonsense, dis-function and undermining leaks. As for our industry, red tape nonsense needs to be addressed fast. God knows the other mob in Labor do not have a clue about….well anything economic really and they could not give a stuff about us planners.
This Cabinet is designed to appeal to the masses and get re-elected. Competence and improving the lot of business is almost irrelevant. I’m all for it if it sees of Shorten and his cronies for another 3 years. A fair trade off in my opinion.
Ity seems the Melbourne based advisers have a job to do-get to O’Dwyer urgently. But be careful, she is ex Freehills. Freehills had a long relationship with MLC. Please correct me if I have that wrong
When she left Costello’s office she did a stint as an “executive ” at NAB ( quoting Wikipedia ).
So like her predecessor she has banking connections
Better news is that Senator Sinodinis is in the restored Cabinet secretary position – that’s Gatekeeper to you and me. Maybe there is hope
That’s politics, the Politicians, Bureaucrats and industry (bar a few notables) are on one side of the fence, pointing to the advisers on the other side as totally to blame for everything that has gone wrong. The FPA and AFA have no power to leverage and nobody was really listening to them. A grassroots campaign can work but I fear a fractured membership. There is only one real problem, three year responsibility, that has to go. Two years maybe, but three swings too far the other way.
This will be interesting. As Assistant Treasurer if she sides with the FSC and Insurance companies but as Small Business Minister it means she helps destroy thousands of Small Risk Insurance businesses by doing this???
It is absolutely time to lobby. The FSC are already on a panicked front foot but we need to make sure government are aware that Advisers totally oppose the 3 year clawback.
My biggest worry is the AFA are still not being strong enough so its up to all of us to make our feelings clear before the FSC get a chance to run out Risk advisers and make the lives of customers worse just to increase their masters profits.
“Kelly O’Dwyer may reconsider response to FSI” (AFR 22/09/15)
“… at the very least… they will want sufficient time to get their heads around the detail of the response as prepared. But they may choose to open up some areas for a closer look at how particular conclusions were reached”
Brad Fox & the FPA your time starts now! You have been given an open invitation to:
1. Attack ASIC Report 413 for the statistically invalid (79 advisers out of a possible +15,000) & flawed piece of work it is – (hint: see ‘methodology pg 15 para 49 of the report)
2. Expose the self seeking motives of the banks & insurance companies
3. Highlight the lack of benefits to consumers & the potential destruction of many small businesses.
4. Promote viable alternatives which benefit consumers and ensure a competitive advice industry.
That these simple and obvious strategies have not been pursued by the AFA/FPA to date beggars belief. A failure to do so now will raise valid questions as to who both groups answer to.
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