I make a contribution to the Fair Trading Amendment (Cash Loan Machines) Bill 2019, a bill which will prohibit cash loan machines from being installed or kept on any premises. I thank the shadow Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation and member for Swansea for bringing the bill to this place. I say thank you because one of these insidious machines is located at the main shopping complex in the most disadvantaged suburb in my electoratein fact, one of the most disadvantaged suburbs in the whole State.

Cash loan machines operate similarly to an ATM, but the money is loaned and the fees are exorbitant. These machines prey on low-income earners and trap them in vicious debt cycles. Like payday loans, these machines avoid national credit laws and cannot take into account the financial circumstances of customers, locking people into loans with unreasonably high fees. The people who are using these machines are people who cannot afford to pay back the debt. These machines offer anywhere from $50 to $1,000 and only require ID, bank details and a phone number to get approved, thus eliminating face-to-face contact and ignoring the financial circumstances of users.

It is clear that payday loans are a real danger to low-paid people. We often hear this from charities that provide financial support to unemployed and low-paid peopleorganisations like Samaritans, Vinnies and the Salvos. The stories of how the lives of struggling people have been affected have often been in the media. In the absence of action from their Federal counterparts, it is clear that the New South Wales Government must act to minimise the harmful effects of the predatory high-interest cash loan machines. The Berejiklian and Morrison LiberalNationals Government can no longer sit by and do nothing whilst the most disadvantaged people have their lives destroyed by bad credit.

This bill gives the Government an opportunity to show that it is willing to take action to get rid of these predatory machines and their operators in this State. I note that in his speech the Minister indicated that he was deeply concerned about payday lending. I was very pleased to hear him say that there should be a national response and that he has already written to the Federal Government to call on them to get on with it. We on this side agree there should be a national response, but I note that the Federal Government commissioned the review of small amount credit contract laws in 2015. That review released its recommendations in April 2016. The Federal Government then released draft legislation back in October 2017, but it is yet to do anything with that draft legislation. It is now nearly two years later and there is no action from the Federal Government about payday lenders.

Clearly, we in this place need to take action in the absence of action from the Federal Liberal-Nationals Government. Yet it seems that by the Minister saying we should not be doing anything about cash lending machines because we are waiting on the Federal Government to do something is simply a case of him and his Liberal-Nationals Government colleagues preferring to sit on their collective hands and let vulnerable people continue to be ripped off. Banning cash loan machines is a way in which we here in New South Wales can take action against an insidious form of payday lending. We have the power and the authority to do so. We should act.

If the Government does not agree to this bill, yet, as it say, it is truly concerned about payday lending, then clearly the only reason it will not support this bill is that it is not a Government bill. Yet again it is up to Labor to take up the fight to protect people who are struggling financially and who are at a low ebb. I have been reluctant to speak publicly about cash loan machines because I do not want to increase the awareness of their existence, but today is our chance to finally get rid of these machines once and for all. I cannot stress how important this bill is to my constituents. I ask that Government members and crossbench members vote to support it.

I will now talk about the demographic of the area in which a cash loan machine is located in my electorate. The Dropping Off The Edge report by Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services Australia consistently identifies, across a number of years, the postcode of the suburb Windale as being one of the most disadvantaged in New South Wales, based on 21 different indicators of socio-economic status The people who live here are absolutely salt of the earth, beautiful people. There is a strong sense of community held by the people who live in postcode 2306. The local schools are rightly very proud of the education they provide. Most people who live there will do their grocery shopping in the shopping centre where this cash loan machine is located.

In Windale, 79 per cent of homes are rented, 64 per cent of residents live in public housing, only 14percent are high school graduates and the median individual income is $340 per week. To think that someone living on $340 per week would be able to pay back a $1,000 loan with an interest rate between 112 per cent and 407 per cent is simply outrageous. Not to mention the additional fees, which include a 20 per cent establishment fee, a 4 per cent monthly fee and daily fees of $6 for late payments up to 43 days. If you do the math, someone could potentially pay $258 in late fees alone for a $1,000 loan. The payday loan industry must be regulated, and regulated quickly. I am vehemently opposed to these machines. I strongly urge all members to act in the best interests of our most vulnerable constituents and to support this legislation. Come on, members of the Liberal-Nationals Government, vote with us. Show that you all have a heart and that you actually care, as the Minister says you do. Icommend the bill to the House.