The Guardian Australia

Banking royal commission: another National signals support as Christense­n launches site

- Gareth Hutchens

A banking inquiry is closer to becoming reality, with another lower house National party MP signalling he is on board.

After Barnaby Joyce suggested early on Monday that the Nationals might switch positions on the banking inquiry when the party room meets next Monday, the dissident MP George Christense­n launched a website in support of the probe and fellow Queensland­er Llew O’Brien signalled to colleagues he was likely to support it, too.

After telegraphi­ng his view to colleagues, O’Brien later told the Australian he was “looking favourably” on the inquiry proposal.

But while parliament­ary numbers are building to make the inquiry a reality, National party MPs remain divided over whether or not an inquiry is a good idea.

The Queensland federal cabinet minister Matt Canavan said he was not a supporter of an inquiry, although he understood many colleagues were.

Liberals were also holding the line on Monday, with the government leader in the Senate, George Brandis, declaring a royal commission into the banks would deliver nothing beyond more beach houses for the lawyers appearing before it.

The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, noted a banking inquiry had not been a live issue during the Queensland election.

With the LNP’s poor showing in the Queensland election emboldenin­g National MPs in Canberra, the Queensland senator Barry O’Sullivan said the state election result reinforced his intention to push forward with his private member’s bill for a parliament­ary inquiry into the banks.

Christense­n also launched a new website promoting the case for a royal commission into the banks, asking voters to sign a petition.

“By signing this petition and telling your story, you are sending a very strong message to my federal government colleagues and it’s the message I will be sharing with them in Canberra next week,” Christense­n said in a statement. “Unless the government acts to establish a royal commission, I will be acting before the end of this year to vote for a commission of inquiry into the banks.”

Joyce faces the voters in New England this Saturday in a byelection. He told Guardian Australia on Monday it was possible the Nationals could agree as a group to pursue the inquiry next Monday, when the House of Representa­tives is scheduled to sit.

But even if they do not, O’Sullivan currently has the numbers in the Senate to pass his private member’s bill because he has support from Labor and the Greens.

The question to date has been would the O’Sullivan proposal have the numbers in the House of Representa­tives but Christense­n and O’Brien give the rebellion a good prospect of success.

The dissidents need 76 votes in the House to suspend the standing orders and bring the bill on for debate, and there is support for the inquiry from Labor and from sections of the crossbench.

While some Nationals are determined enough to break ranks in the event their party doesn’t flip on the issue, other Nationals remain unconvince­d.

The Liberal National party MP David Littleprou­d told Guardian Australia he did not think a commission of inquiry was necessary but if the party room decided to support O’Sullivan’s bill he would support it in the House of Representa­tives.

Nationals MP Mark Coulton said he did not think an inquiry was necessary either, because he felt it was being pursued for political reasons than that practical ones. He would withhold his support for the idea.

Nationals MP Michael McCormack said he did not want to speculate on the party room discussion.

Nationals MP Damian Drum said he was unhappy with the way O’Sullivan was trying to force the issue into the House of Representa­tives with a private member’s bill, rather than going through the party room. He said voters needed to know that it was not National party policy to pursue a banking inquiry.

Nationals MP Andrew Broad said few of his constituen­ts had raised concerns about the banking industry, because the Victorian Coalition government had introduced a farm debt remediatio­n process and that had been “very helpful”.

But he said he would listen to what his colleagues had to say in next week’s party room meeting. “I trust the judgment of my colleagues. That’s how a good party should work.”

 ??  ?? Llew O’Brien said he was ‘looking favourably’ towards supporting a banking royal commission as George Christense­n launched a website to support an inquiry. Photograph: Andrew Taylor/AAP
Llew O’Brien said he was ‘looking favourably’ towards supporting a banking royal commission as George Christense­n launched a website to support an inquiry. Photograph: Andrew Taylor/AAP

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