Banking royal commission: Treasurer fails to apologise following “scathing” final report
Scott Morrison said he regrets being ‘overly cautious’ delaying the banking royal commission, after his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull took a swipe at him.
Malcolm Turnbull has opened up a new war with his former Liberal colleagues by declaring the government should have called the banking royal commission earlier.
It comes as Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Prime Minister Scott Morrison refused to apologise for the government delaying the inquiry.
“I’m focused on the future,” was the Treasurer’s response this morning after Commissioner Kenneth Hayne’s “scathing” final report yesterday called for a massive shake-up of the banking and financial services sector with 76 recommendations.
It also identified 24 cases of misconduct for further investigation by financial watchdogs, which could result in civil and criminal charges.
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Mr Frydenberg refused to concede the government should apologise for having to be dragged to the in-depth inquiry, while also saying he thought the Liberal Party should still be able to accept donations from financial institutions.
But the former prime minister threw his former colleagues under the bus, saying: “I believe, with the benefit of hindsight, we should have held the royal commission earlier.”
“I think what the royal commission has done is provided something of a shock treatment to really ram home the need for cultural change. You’ve got to restore faith and confidence,” he told Sky News reporters.
Mr Turnbull refused to call the royal commission for more than two years as prime minister until forced into action by backbenchers in the National Party who threatened to go rogue and call an inquiry with Labor’s backing.
In April 2018, while still prime minister, he had acknowledged that “the government would have had less political grief if it had set up a royal commission two years ago” but defended his decision to “take action immediately” instead.
This morning, he said some examples of wrongdoing exposed in the royal commission had “shocked” him, adding he hadn’t believed the “cultural failures” in the banking sector were “as bad as that”.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison also refused to apologise today but noted he had said last year that he “regretted” the government had not called the inquiry earlier.
Speaking in Townsville, he added: “I initiated the royal commission. I’ve responded to the royal commission as Prime Minister, with the Treasurer and our entire team, and we are taking action on all 76 recommendations.”
He also said his comments were in line with Mr Turnbull’s.
As Treasurer, Mr Morrison had called the push for a royal commission a “populist whinge” and then a “regrettable but necessary action” when the government finally launched the probe in November 2017.
But last year, he told media he hadn’t realised the community’s “hurt” needed to be addressed on top of action to improve the banking sector.
Asked today why he had failed to call the inquiry earlier, Mr Morrison said: “Well, as Treasurer ... you are going to be careful about what the potential impacts are on a financial system on which everybody’s livelihoods depend.”
“Your mortgage, your loan, everything goes through the financial system - and I was being very careful.
“You could accuse me of being overly cautious.”
Mr Morrison said he was particularly concerned about a possible credit crunch and noted the commission had already impacted on the economy.
“But we’ve called it, we’ve done it. It was done, I think, in a very timely and thorough way, and I want to thank particularly Justice Hayne and all of his team for the very thorough job that they did.”
Earlier, today, Mr Frydenberg said he was “focused on the future” when asked if he regretted not calling the inquiry earlier.
“What matters to your viewers ... and the people of Australia, is that trust is restored in our financial institutions, that they’re held to account for misconduct and that the culture changes,” he told ABC News Breakfast.
He also defended the Liberal Party for receiving donations from the banks, saying Labor also took their money.
“My view ... is that the banks are important institutions and, as long as the laws are adhered to, they should be free to contribute to political parties of any particular persuasion,” Mr Frydenberg said.
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Asked later on Sky News “Are you sorry?”, he said: “I absolutely understand the deep hurt that’s being felt by people right across the economy and the community and what we have said is that in taking action on all 76 recommendations, we will get a better deal for Australian consumers. We are on the consumers’ side and the banks must do better.”
Pushed on whether the government could have handled calls for the inquiry better, he said: “I want to point out to you and your viewers that when we first came to government, we commissioned the financial systems inquiry by David Murray, and a number of those recommendations, we have implemented, which has been endorsed by Commissioner Hayne because they are working in the interests of consumers, including the banking executive accountability regime.”
Meanwhile, Australian Banking Association chief executive Anna Bligh defended National Australia Bank chairman Ken Henry and chief executive Andrew Thorburn today after Commissioner Hayne singled them out in his final report for not learning the lessons of the past.
“I think that it’s difficult to form a full view of someone’s character on the basis of one interview but that’s all that the Commission process allowed for,” she told ABC News Breakfast.
She said she encountered both men on a regular basis and never found them to be resistant to reform.
“I think that people can be confident that ... these are people who understand the problem, are determined to fix it and have already put in place a number of remediation programs and are fully on board for the sorts of changes that have to come in the future,” Ms Bligh said.
Neither Mr Frydenberg or Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen would comment on whether the NAB bosses should quit their positions following the report.
Mr Bowen was indicated Labor would continue to accept political donations from the banks.
“The important thing is to ensure that no donation influences policy,” he told ABC.
“Nobody could suggest that any donation from a bank has influenced the Labor Party. We called for this Royal Commission three years ago. We voted for it 26 times. We will continue to act in the interests of consumers.”
He added that “banks donate to all sorts of political parties, as is their right”.
New crackdown on card surcharges
The convoluted mess of card surcharges boils down to consumers and small businesses having to pay more. Extra funding for the ACCC will hopefully address the problem.
New crackdown on card surcharges
The convoluted mess of card surcharges boils down to consumers and small businesses having to pay more. Extra funding for the ACCC will hopefully address the problem.