On July 1, AUSTRAC CEO Nicole Rose secured a 2 per cent pay rise. And who did she have to thank for taking her yearly pay to $498,910? Why, in part, Ewen Crouch, whose prestigious career her agency has just helped derail.

As the Canberra Times first reported, Crouch on November 28 thought it appropriate to resign his position as one of three members of the Commonwealth Remuneration Tribunal, the independent statutory authority which sets pay for parliamentarians, department secretaries and agency heads. That includes the chairs of ASIC, APRA and the ACCC, which in turn regulate the companies Crouch helps steer.