Australian govt under pressure over bank revelations

MELBOURNE: The Australian government came under fresh pressure on Sunday over its reluctance to hold a judicial inquiry into the banking sector which has exposed widespread misconduct and regulatory shortcomings.

Minister for Finance and Revenue Kelly O’dwyer was the latest cabinet member to express a change of heart about the Royal Commission investigation, which she previously opposed as an “inquiry looking for something to inquire about”.

She told state broadcaster the ABC that the powerful independent inquiry would in fact benefit customers, and credited the centre-right government for its establishment.

Customers would “benefit from the action we have taken, they will benefit from the Royal Commission,” she said.

She was asked nine times during the interview on the “Insiders” programme if the government regretted not establishing the Royal Commission sooner, but failed to answer each time.

Labour’s shadow Finance Minister, Jim Chalmers, told the ABC the government’s response showed that it was from “another planet”.

“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.

The Royal Commission heard explosive testimony last week, including admissions that some customers had been charged for financial advice for a decade after they had died, and that others had been deliberately charged for no service.

— Reuters