Malcolm Turnbull under pressure to admit government ‘got it wrong’ over banking inquiry delay

MALCOLM Turnbull is facing a growing push from within his own ranks to admit the government was wrong to delay a Royal Commission into the banks.

MALCOLM Turnbull is facing a growing push from within his own ranks to admit the government “got it wrong” by delaying a Royal Commission into the banks.

South Australian Liberal MP Tony Pasin added his voice today to a growing number of Coalition MPs and former MPs acknowledging the government made a mistake by resisting the inquiry for more than two years.

“I’m prepared to say we got it wrong,” Mr Pasin told Sky News today.

And, in a strong signal to the Prime Minister that backbenchers aren’t happy with senior cabinet members refusing to acknowledge the misstep, he said: “I think Members of Parliament like me should be willing to indicate when they’ve made an error.”

“I’m no fan of the banks but I thought we had a well-regulated banking system and I thought that banks wouldn’t lie to the regulators,” Mr Pasin said.

“The reality is, here and now, we see that I was wrong on that and it’s very important that we continue down this path in terms of the royal commission.”

.@TonyPasin on banking royal commission: Members of parliament, like me, should be willing to indicate when they’ve made an error. I’m prepared to say that we got it wrong.

MORE: https://t.co/7HxfZCpNAy#amagenda pic.twitter.com/NLDbAT6yZv

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 23, 2018

RELATED: AMP loses $1 billion amid scandal

RELATED: AMP boss quits

His comments come after explosive revelations in royal commission hearings over the past week and a half, including that Commonwealth Bank’s financial advisers had charged dead clients for financial advice.

Prime Minister Turnbull and his senior cabinet ministers have not apologised or agreed it was an error to delay the inquiry but have acknowledged the stories coming out of the hearings have been “disturbing”.

Mr Turnbull yesterday said the government was “politically” wrong to resist the inquiry but that it had done so to benefit customers, as the delay had allowed the government to introduce new measures to target bank misconduct.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann is the first senior cabinet minister to admit the government should have launched a royal commission sooner.

“With the benefit of hindsight, we should have gone earlier for this inquiry,” he told Sky News from Berlin yesterday.

Malcolm Turnbull is facing a growing push from within his own ranks to admit the government “got it wrong” by delaying a Royal Commission into the banks. Picture: AAP

His comments followed those of former Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce last week.

“In the past I argued against a Royal Commission into banking. I was wrong. What I have heard is so far is beyond disturbing,” he wrote on Twitter.

Former Nationals Deputy Leader Fiona Nash, ousted from Parliament last year over her dual citizenship, also said on the ABC’s Q & A program last night that the government “absolutely got it wrong” to delay the inquiry.

“We should have done it sooner and not being in government anymore, I’m happy to put my hand up and say I was wrong then,” she said.

Mr Pasin also took aim at Opposition leader Bill Shorten today, claiming he was trying to score “cheap political points” by targeting the government over its more than two-year delay in launching the royal commission.

The backbencher said the government was now focused on ensuring the royal commission “achieves real outcomes and changes the culture of banking and financial institutions”.

Originally published as Malcolm Turnbull under pressure to admit government ‘got it wrong’ over banking inquiry delay