❓ Question regarding a developer's mezzanine financing scheme and potential risks to investors. The Minister responds by criticising the opposition and highlighting concerns about high-risk investments and a potential loophole in regulations.
AnsweredQoN 507Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Is the minister aware of an article that appeared in The West Australian on 12 March 2003 regarding a developer of city apartments seeking investor support for a mezzanine financing scheme? Mr J.C. KOBELKE
AnswerView source ↗
Mr Speaker - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: How long were you on hold yesterday at the ABC? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will take the interjection. I realise that the standard of debate poses a real challenge to you, Mr Speaker, but members opposite say total untruths and never correct what they say. We have two prime examples in the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. They go out and create fear and misconceptions among people and say things that are totally untrue. Yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke at Burswood to about 400 retailers. I will quote from a tape recording that we made, because he always says things that are wrong, and one must hold him to account. He said - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. That is totally false; there is not an element of truth in it. What he has done today is to bring in a state government document, not one from the National Competition Council, that in passing alludes to the same matter and he says, “There it is!” He said that new guidelines “provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation”. That is what he told representatives of about 400 small businesses, and what he told them was totally untrue. Point of Order Mr J.L. BRADSHAW: I thought that answers were supposed to be relevant to the question. The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: Mr Speaker - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: How long were you on hold yesterday at the ABC? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will take the interjection. I realise that the standard of debate poses a real challenge to you, Mr Speaker, but members opposite say total untruths and never correct what they say. We have two prime examples in the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. They go out and create fear and misconceptions among people and say things that are totally untrue. Yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke at Burswood to about 400 retailers. I will quote from a tape recording that we made, because he always says things that are wrong, and one must hold him to account. He said - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. That is totally false; there is not an element of truth in it. What he has done today is to bring in a state government document, not one from the National Competition Council, that in passing alludes to the same matter and he says, “There it is!” He said that new guidelines “provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation”. That is what he told representatives of about 400 small businesses, and what he told them was totally untrue. Point of Order Mr J.L. BRADSHAW: I thought that answers were supposed to be relevant to the question. The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
Mr Speaker - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: How long were you on hold yesterday at the ABC? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will take the interjection. I realise that the standard of debate poses a real challenge to you, Mr Speaker, but members opposite say total untruths and never correct what they say. We have two prime examples in the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. They go out and create fear and misconceptions among people and say things that are totally untrue. Yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke at Burswood to about 400 retailers. I will quote from a tape recording that we made, because he always says things that are wrong, and one must hold him to account. He said - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. That is totally false; there is not an element of truth in it. What he has done today is to bring in a state government document, not one from the National Competition Council, that in passing alludes to the same matter and he says, “There it is!” He said that new guidelines “provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation”. That is what he told representatives of about 400 small businesses, and what he told them was totally untrue. Point of Order Mr J.L. BRADSHAW: I thought that answers were supposed to be relevant to the question. The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: How long were you on hold yesterday at the ABC? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will take the interjection. I realise that the standard of debate poses a real challenge to you, Mr Speaker, but members opposite say total untruths and never correct what they say. We have two prime examples in the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. They go out and create fear and misconceptions among people and say things that are totally untrue. Yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke at Burswood to about 400 retailers. I will quote from a tape recording that we made, because he always says things that are wrong, and one must hold him to account. He said - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. That is totally false; there is not an element of truth in it. What he has done today is to bring in a state government document, not one from the National Competition Council, that in passing alludes to the same matter and he says, “There it is!” He said that new guidelines “provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation”. That is what he told representatives of about 400 small businesses, and what he told them was totally untrue. Point of Order Mr J.L. BRADSHAW: I thought that answers were supposed to be relevant to the question. The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will take the interjection. I realise that the standard of debate poses a real challenge to you, Mr Speaker, but members opposite say total untruths and never correct what they say. We have two prime examples in the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. They go out and create fear and misconceptions among people and say things that are totally untrue. Yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke at Burswood to about 400 retailers. I will quote from a tape recording that we made, because he always says things that are wrong, and one must hold him to account. He said - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. That is totally false; there is not an element of truth in it. What he has done today is to bring in a state government document, not one from the National Competition Council, that in passing alludes to the same matter and he says, “There it is!” He said that new guidelines “provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation”. That is what he told representatives of about 400 small businesses, and what he told them was totally untrue. Point of Order Mr J.L. BRADSHAW: I thought that answers were supposed to be relevant to the question. The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
Yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke at Burswood to about 400 retailers. I will quote from a tape recording that we made, because he always says things that are wrong, and one must hold him to account. He said - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. That is totally false; there is not an element of truth in it. What he has done today is to bring in a state government document, not one from the National Competition Council, that in passing alludes to the same matter and he says, “There it is!” He said that new guidelines “provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation”. That is what he told representatives of about 400 small businesses, and what he told them was totally untrue. Point of Order Mr J.L. BRADSHAW: I thought that answers were supposed to be relevant to the question. The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: Mr Speaker - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: How long were you on hold yesterday at the ABC? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will take the interjection. I realise that the standard of debate poses a real challenge to you, Mr Speaker, but members opposite say total untruths and never correct what they say. We have two prime examples in the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. They go out and create fear and misconceptions among people and say things that are totally untrue. Yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke at Burswood to about 400 retailers. I will quote from a tape recording that we made, because he always says things that are wrong, and one must hold him to account. He said - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. That is totally false; there is not an element of truth in it. What he has done today is to bring in a state government document, not one from the National Competition Council, that in passing alludes to the same matter and he says, “There it is!” He said that new guidelines “provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation”. That is what he told representatives of about 400 small businesses, and what he told them was totally untrue. Point of Order Mr J.L. BRADSHAW: I thought that answers were supposed to be relevant to the question. The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
Mr Speaker - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: How long were you on hold yesterday at the ABC? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will take the interjection. I realise that the standard of debate poses a real challenge to you, Mr Speaker, but members opposite say total untruths and never correct what they say. We have two prime examples in the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. They go out and create fear and misconceptions among people and say things that are totally untrue. Yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke at Burswood to about 400 retailers. I will quote from a tape recording that we made, because he always says things that are wrong, and one must hold him to account. He said - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. That is totally false; there is not an element of truth in it. What he has done today is to bring in a state government document, not one from the National Competition Council, that in passing alludes to the same matter and he says, “There it is!” He said that new guidelines “provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation”. That is what he told representatives of about 400 small businesses, and what he told them was totally untrue. Point of Order Mr J.L. BRADSHAW: I thought that answers were supposed to be relevant to the question. The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: How long were you on hold yesterday at the ABC? Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will take the interjection. I realise that the standard of debate poses a real challenge to you, Mr Speaker, but members opposite say total untruths and never correct what they say. We have two prime examples in the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. They go out and create fear and misconceptions among people and say things that are totally untrue. Yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke at Burswood to about 400 retailers. I will quote from a tape recording that we made, because he always says things that are wrong, and one must hold him to account. He said - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. That is totally false; there is not an element of truth in it. What he has done today is to bring in a state government document, not one from the National Competition Council, that in passing alludes to the same matter and he says, “There it is!” He said that new guidelines “provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation”. That is what he told representatives of about 400 small businesses, and what he told them was totally untrue. Point of Order Mr J.L. BRADSHAW: I thought that answers were supposed to be relevant to the question. The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will take the interjection. I realise that the standard of debate poses a real challenge to you, Mr Speaker, but members opposite say total untruths and never correct what they say. We have two prime examples in the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. They go out and create fear and misconceptions among people and say things that are totally untrue. Yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke at Burswood to about 400 retailers. I will quote from a tape recording that we made, because he always says things that are wrong, and one must hold him to account. He said - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. That is totally false; there is not an element of truth in it. What he has done today is to bring in a state government document, not one from the National Competition Council, that in passing alludes to the same matter and he says, “There it is!” He said that new guidelines “provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation”. That is what he told representatives of about 400 small businesses, and what he told them was totally untrue. Point of Order Mr J.L. BRADSHAW: I thought that answers were supposed to be relevant to the question. The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
Yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition spoke at Burswood to about 400 retailers. I will quote from a tape recording that we made, because he always says things that are wrong, and one must hold him to account. He said - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. That is totally false; there is not an element of truth in it. What he has done today is to bring in a state government document, not one from the National Competition Council, that in passing alludes to the same matter and he says, “There it is!” He said that new guidelines “provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation”. That is what he told representatives of about 400 small businesses, and what he told them was totally untrue. Point of Order Mr J.L. BRADSHAW: I thought that answers were supposed to be relevant to the question. The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
The SPEAKER: We have seen from the answer the danger of interjection. Interjections occur on various subjects that have nothing to do with questions. When ministers respond, we lose the time allocated to question time. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr J.C. KOBELKE: I will not get onto the Leader of the Opposition and his total untruths, but I will finish very briefly in response to the interjection from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Members will see from the facts a very clear example of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking to approximately 400 representatives from small businesses and running a scare campaign. He said that they should examine their investment decisions, which might involve $1 million for some - quite a large amount for a small business. He told them something that he knows to be absolutely false. Will he retract it and tell the truth? No, opposition members come in here and by innuendo and statement they talk of the Premier and others not speaking the truth. They have absolutely no credibility. This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
This brings me to the point of the question. I apologise to the member for Innaloo that I got sidetracked by the interjection. The article in the newspaper was headed “Westpoint pushes Paragon switch”. It is of concern, although it may not mislead people to the same extent as statements by the Opposition. For people to suggest that they should move out of a property investment in Perth, where there is construction and capital value, and put their money into promissory notes for another construction in Melbourne, and be attracted by 12 per cent interest, or one per cent paid per month and two per cent paid at the end of the period, is to attract them with a high interest rate in the current market and tempt them to overlook the fact that they are getting into a very high-risk investment. The mezzanine financing scheme is underpinned by promissory notes. I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
I have written to the federal minister, and the department has raised the matter with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The issue is that a promissory note over $50 000 does not go through the procedures that would normally be required for debentures and other instruments, which would give some protection. I believe that there is a loophole. I hope that very soon the Commonwealth Government or ASIC will crack down on the risk that people will lose money by being attracted by high interest rates when there is very little security or no security and very little guarantee for their money if they invest in a scheme such as this.
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