The government of Australia is facing new pressure this weekend over its initial desire not to launch an inquiry into the banking sector, which is plagued by misconduct and a lack of regulatory oversight.
According to a report in Reuters, that pressure is resulting in a change of heart for some lawmakers. Minister for Finance and Revenue Kelly O’Dwyer said the Royal Commission investigation, which she had previously called “an inquiry looking for something to investigate”, would now benefit customers. She was asked on state broadcaster ABC nine times if the government wished it launched the Royal Commission sooner, but she wouldn’t answer any of the times.
Meanwhile, Labor’s shadow finance minister, Jim Chalmers, told ABC the government’s slow response to widespread misconduct in the banking industry demonstrated the government is uninformed in its thinking. “They’ve learnt absolutely nothing from all of the scandalous revelations that we’ve heard over the last little while in the Royal Commission,” he said, according to Reuters.
The government has unveiled plans to significantly increase penalties for corporate malfeasance and is now considering whether to extend the commission’s one-year mandate for another year, which could take it into the 2019 election.
Full Content: Reuters
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