Labor parliamentarian Bernie Ripoll has made a valuable contribution to the financial services and superannuation industries, both in Government and Opposition, says the SMSF Association.
Association Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Andrea Slattery says Bernie always had a constructive outlook on policy issues and was prepared to entertain different points of view.
“We greatly appreciated the fact that his door was always open and he would listen and sometimes act on our counsel.
“We also acknowledge the time he gave to attend and address our national conferences where he clearly articulated Labor’s message on the issues of the day.”
Ripoll has just announced his resignation from the Shadow Ministry and will leave the Parliament at the next federal election.
He was elected to the Queensland seat of Oxley in 1998 and was Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer in the last Labor Government. In Opposition since 2013 he has been a member of the Shadow Ministry with the portfolios of financial services and superannuation, sport and assisting Opposition Leader Bill Shorten on small business.
Slattery says Bernie will always be remembered for his sterling work as chair of the Corporations and Financial Services Committee.
“The Ripoll report into the financial services industry helped lay the foundations for the FoFA legislation. Although we differed on some of the report’s proposals, we always recognised its importance.
“As an Association that represents SMSF specialists, as well as the more than one million trustees they represent, we believe that history will show this report will prove a significant building block to improving professionalism in the financial services sector.”
