While Malcolm Turnbull continues to fight to give big businesses a tax cut, vulnerable Australians are being ignored by his government which has again missed a self-imposed deadline to introduce important laws to crack down on predatory payday lending practices.

This is yet another area of vital financial services regulation that the Turnbull Government has been negligent and too slow to act on, to the detriment of vulnerable Australians.

These laws are needed to implement reforms in the interests of improving protections for vulnerable consumers of payday loans and rent-to-buy schemes.

In February, Treasury officials revealed that the legislation would be introduced in the Autumn sittings:

Senator KETTER:So it was Minister Sukkar's decision to delay the introduction of the bill?

Treasury Official:He's considering the legislation, yes.

Senator KETTER:He's still considering it. Do you have any idea at the moment as to when the legislation will be introduced?

Treasury Official:I believe we're still looking for introduction in autumn.

[Senate Estimates, 28 February 2018]

The Autumn sittings have now come and gone and theres still no sign of this vital legislation.

The Turnbull Government is strong on rhetoric when it comes to consumer rights, but simply cant back up the words with actions that help to protect vulnerable people who are preyed upon by these types of lenders.

The Government has been promising action on these laws since 2016.

In February 2017, Kelly ODwyer said that the bill would be introduced into the parliament at the earliest opportunity, and it will pass this year. In October 2017, Michael McCormack said that the Government will introduce legislation this year.

Labor even introduced the Governments own draft legislation word for word into the House of Representatives. Not a single Government MP has even bothered to speak in the debate on that bill.

The Turnbull Government even protected payday lenders from the Royal Commission, failing to include them in the terms of reference.

Once again, its the conservative backbench, including the Parliamentary Friends of Payday Lending, setting this Governments agenda, not the Cabinet, not the relevant Ministers, and certainly not the Prime Minister.

Malcolm Turnbull, Scott Morrison and Michael Sukkar need to deliver on their promises, and put the interests of consumers who are getting ripped off before the interests of their mates at the big end of town.