Andrew Bragg #82

Australian Liberal senator for New South Wales

Andrew Bragg & Australian Liberal senator for New South Wales & background` Andrew Bragg & Australian Liberal senator for New South Wales & poster`
Andrew Bragg & Australian Liberal senator for New South Wales
Category Law & Politics
person-quote
Australia can be a leader in digital assets. This means Australians can access new choices and lower prices. It means Australians can have more control of their financial destiny rather than being dependent on endless intermediation.

Biography:

Andrew Bragg is a pro-crypto Australian politician who was elected as senator for the state of New South Wales in 2019. He is majorly considered to be one of the more progressive leaders in Australia’s right-wing Liberal Party.

In September 2019, Senator Bragg led a senate committee inquiry into the fintech and regulatory technology spaces, paving the way for a year-long review into how competitive Australia is in these sectors. He then chaired the resulting committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Center, where he used his role to champion crypto and call for increased regulation.

In August 2020, Senator Bragg commissioned a 15-person taskforce of business leaders in financial services, fintech and technology to create new jobs for Australians in these emerging fields, including blockchain technology and crypto. 

Bragg also was the national director of a successful campaign for legalizing same-sex marriage, chair of the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, and is an advocate for Australia’s First Nations Peoples and superannuation policy reform. 

Bragg’s 2021:

During 2021, Senator Andrew Bragg was an outspoken advocate for the adoption of cryptocurrency, digital assets and blockchain technology in Australia. In April, Bragg urged the Australian government to introduce a clear regulatory framework for digital assets and crypto companies to prevent local startups moving overseas. He claimed that regulatory uncertainty was creating problems in the fintech sector because banks were reluctant to deal with crypto assets.

As the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre, Bragg oversaw the publication of Australia’s “crypto report” in October. The report made 12 recommendations intended to tackle key issues pertinent to the cryptocurrency sector including a tax discount for crypto miners using renewable energy, new licenses for crypto exchanges, an overhaul of capital gains tax in decentralized finance and new laws to govern decentralized autonomous organizations. 

He also spoke out against Australian banks, which he claimed were dressing up “anti-competitive behavior” as regulatory compliance and debanking crypto customers.

Bragg’s 2022:

As far as plans for 2022 go, it seems as though Senator Bragg has his sights set on implementing the legislation he spent the majority of 2021 calling for. At Blockchain Australia’s NFT fest in October 2021, Senator Bragg said that Australia’s digital asset plan to create cryptocurrency-related legislation is “coming” soon and could be enacted in 2022.

He said that he hopes the country’s major political parties will adopt clear regulatory crypto policies as part of their election manifestos, which will be pertinent to the country’s upcoming parliamentary election this year. “The reality is these products are out there now, people are using them,” he said. “We need to make sure that we have the right policy and regulatory environment to be able to maintain our competitive advantage, but also to protect consumers.”

While he neglected to outline the specifics, he stated that the plan will include recommendations for a “robust policy framework” focused on three objectives: consumer protection, investor promotion and market competition. The Aussie senator also has shared his plans to advocate for the sector running on 100% renewable energy.