WikiLeaks releases documents revealing Abbott’s secret talks for financial deregulation

FOREIGN banks would be given greater access to the Australian market — including customer data — if Tony Abbott gets his way, according to a report.

Big Four Banks

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott is holding secret trade negotiations to fundamentally deregulate Austraila’s banking and finance sector, according to a report citing WikiLeaks documents.

Foreign banks would be given greater access to the Australian market, local bank accounts and financial data could be transferred overseas, and foreign financial and information technology workers would be free to flood the workforce under proposals being discussed by Australian trade negotiators, Fairfax media reports.

JULIAN ASSANGE: WikiLeaks to release docs on 50 countries

NO MEETING: UK ‘cancels talks on Assange future’

Trade Minister Andrew Robb has dismissed experts’ warnings that the proposed changes could harm Australia’s ability to deal with future financial crises independently, saying the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) negotiations are a “key focus” of government policy.

The details have emerged in leaked WikiLeaks documents — specificially a confidential negotiating text provided to Fairfax by WikiLeaks.

Mr Robb reportedly says his department’s policy is to “open as many doors as possible” to encourage the nation’s financial sector to export its services.

“Financial services are a key part of the negotiations for us, given the strength of our sector in areas including banking and wealth management, particularly in the major, growing markets of Asia,” Mr Rob said.

The report says 50 World Trade Organisation members are involved in the TiSA negotiations.