‘7 words is not a crypto policy': Aussie opposition under fire as election looms

cointelegraph.com:

Australia’s opposition Labor party is facing criticism over its lack of formal policy regarding the cryptocurrency industry just days before a national election is expected to be called

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, from the Liberal Party, is expected to fire the starters pistol for a Federal election this weekend. However, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) is well ahead in the polls at this stage and their crypto policies are less than comprehensive.

With at least 18% of Australians having invested in crypto at some point according to new figures from Gemini, cryptocurrency is becoming an election issue that cannot be ignored.

Crypto venture capitalist Mark Carnegie said at the Australian Financial Review Cryptocurrency Summit this week that he believes crypto should be a key talking point for the election candidates. "The idea that the Labor Party does not have a policy about what we’re doing about this, it just shows you the failure of leadership," he said.

Shadow Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones pushed back against the appraisal and said that if the ALP won, it would consider crypto in a wider overhaul of digital payments, such as Apple and Google's wallets.

Jones also said the ALP would look to include cryptocurrency as a financial product, which would bring it under the purview of the Australia Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Responding to the headline of an AFR report on the matter Government Senator Andrew Bragg tweeted: “7 words is not a crypto policy.”

Senator Bragg headed up an Australian Senate Committee inquiry last year that recommended broad, sweeping reforms in crypto legislation. In December, the government announced it was in favor of six out of nine reformsttee, including a