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The Indigenous Affairs Committee has today published an interim report for its inquiry into better corporate engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers.
This report is presented as an issues paper for consideration in the next Parliament due to the limited time available to conduct the inquiry and the inability to travel due to the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic. The committee had also not concluded its evidence gathering in relation to misfeasance by some corporations against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers or had a chance to speak with those businesses about their practices.
The interim report therefore makes no formal policy recommendations to government but highlights core issues that are intended to serve as a useful starting point for the new committee. These include:
- The future of the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program and how it could be strengthened
- The impact of ongoing poor behaviour in the telecommunications sector with significant debts accumulated by many in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities due to unscrupulous practices
- The unfair advantage taken of the poor financial literacy of some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers across a number of sectors
- The predatory practices of certain payday-style lenders, car finance operations, and funeral insurance businesses that operate outside the reach of regulators.
Chair of the Committee, Mr Julian Leeser MP, said that ‘the Committee was disappointed to hear during the inquiry that despite some recent high profile cases, such as the $50 million fine imposed on Telstra for unconscionable conduct, bad corporate behaviour towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers continues to exist in certain market sectors such as financial services and telecommunications.’
‘The Committee would like to see this inquiry re-referred at the beginning of the next Parliament. The newly formed committee will then have time to explore the core issues in this interim report in greater depth and make appropriate recommendations.’
The report can be accessed and
