from Crikey .....

Poor Joe Hockey: As a man with an economics degree and experience in the private sector, Hockey is awfully ignorant as a politician about ripoffs and fairness for the biggest group of people, voters and investors, who are one and the same in these days of compulsory super and retirement. The federal government has finally responded to abuses such as Storm, Opes Prime, Westpoint and a string of failures by companies with solid boards (Allco Financial Group, Babcock and Brown) with wholesale changes to the ways financial advisers charge their clients and what will and won't be allowed, such as commissions of all types. Small investors and victims groups either cheered, or said the changes were just enough, and more could be done.

Poor, poor Joe: And what was Joe Hockey's response to the change from the government? Well, according to this article in Monday's Australian: "Opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey last night described the proposal as "small-minded and populist". "But it is also wrong," Hockey told The Australian. "It will hurt small businesses." Hockey said commissions allowed low-income earners to access financial advice because they paid through commissions, not upfront fees. Under Financial Services Minister Chris Bowen's proposals, they would simply be unable to afford any advice, he said. The best that can be said that Joe is a politician, willing to say anything to gain the support of anyone. The worst that can be said, that he has willfully ignored the Storm, Opes Prime, Westpoint and other rorts, all of which happened under a financial regulation regime that his previous government left in place for too long and didn't update.

And his leader? Well Tony Abbott was no better, echoing Hockey's ignorant sentiments. Neither realise that financial advisers for the most part are despised, like journalists, real estate agents and politicians. Abbott vowed to block any ban on commissions. So now he thinks that the big banks, the financial planners own group and a host of others who support the ending of the commissions rip offs, are wrong. Not to mention all those investors who have had their savings destroyed or badly damaged by incompetent advice and high commissions. Abbott said the changes were unbalanced, just where that lack of balance occurred wasn't made clear.