Banking royal commission: Labor’s push to tackle Commissioner Hayne’s ‘absolutely simple’ recommendations

Scott Morrison has criticised Labor’s push for him to make changes after the banking royal commission before the federal election.

Funeral insurance “rip offs”, dodgy car loans and poor insurance claims handling are the “absolutely simple” banking royal commission recommendations Labor will push for this week as it pressures Scott Morrison to take action before the election.

The Opposition is calling for the government to tackle these recommendations immediately, warning parliament won’t address them until months after the election if they’re not introduced this week.

Parliament sits for just two more days this week before the budget sitting week in April.

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Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen acknowledged some of banking commission’s 76 recommendations would need time to be addressed. Picture: AAP

“Does the parliament want to deal with banking scandals and rip-offs or not,” Opposition leader Bill Shorten said today, accusing Mr Morrison of running a “part-time parliament”.

“The onus is on him. If not now, when.”

He reiterated his call for the Prime Minister to add extra sitting days in March to deal with the banking royal commission recommendations.

Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen acknowledged some of Commissioner Hayne’s 76 recommendations would need time to be addressed but added that funeral insurance “rip offs” should stop immediately.

Labor will attempt to introduce three private members bills this week to tackle funeral insurance, point of sale exemptions for dodgy loans and to give the Australian Securities and Investments Commission oversight of insurance claims.

“There is no excuse for this kind of behaviour to carry on until August or later in the year,” Mr Bowen said.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the House of Representatives Chamber at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Kym Smith

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg responded to Labor attacks over the banking royal commission recommendations in Question Time, saying the Opposition’s proposal today dealt with “a mere 6 per cent” of the Hayne recommendations.

He said the government needed time to carefully consider all 76 recommendations, 40 of which would require legislation.

“As the Leader of the Opposition knows, there’s consultation papers, there’s drafting instructions, there is a draft of the exposure draft of the legislation - and then that needs to be introduced,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“And none other than the Law Council of Australia said, ‘We must take the time to get this right.”

Prime Minister Morrison said it looked like Labor “spent 15 minutes” on its legislation.

“It’s a very serious issue and it requires a very serious response,” Mr Morrison told Question Time.

PM Scott Morrison during Question Time in the House of Representatives Chamber at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

Labor frontbencher Tony Burke said another 42 pieces of legislations had been introduced in the past two weeks and it would be “impossible” to pass all of them before the election unless extra sitting weeks were added.

Some of the legislation is non-contentions and will have Labor’s backing but Mr Burke said predicted parliament wouldn’t pass more than 10 of the bills in the time left.

Senior government minister Christopher Pyne has previously dubbed Labor’s calls to add extra sitting weeks a “stunt”.

“To change the laws around financial services and respond to the banking royal commission in the way that we wish to will take about forty different pieces of legislation,” Mr Pyne said last week.

“We won’t be calling the parliament back for another two weeks of feverish, rushed, lawmaking for something that’s far too important for political stunts.”

Originally published as Banking royal commission: Labor’s push to tackle Commissioner Hayne’s ‘absolutely simple’ recommendations