AMP chief Catherine Brenner should fall for ‘extraordinary failures’: Labor

Catherine Brenner should take responsibility and resign, according to Labor’s Jim Chalmers.

AMP chairman Catherine Brenner, right, with CEO Craig Meller. Picture: John Feder.

AMP chairwoman Catherine Brenner should take responsibility for “extraordinary failures” of corporate responsibility at the company and resign, Labor finance spokesman Jim Chalmers says.

Mr Chalmers said Ms Brenner should be held accountable for “extraordinary scandals” at AMP that were revealed in the royal commission into the banks.

Labor Finance Spokesman Jim Chalmers. Picture: AAP.

“There has been pretty extraordinary failures of corporate responsibility,” he told Sky News on Sunday, ahead of crisis meeting of AMP’s board today.

“If board accountability is to mean anything then I think the chair of the company should take responsibility and that means resigning.”

Labor Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek was not as definitive when asked about Ms Brenner’s future.

“I think that will be something that her board and shareholders decide for her. I think it’s important to hold people to account,” she told the ABC.

The Australian reported on Friday that the AMP board will ask Ms Brenner to resign over allegations the company lied to the corporate regulator over a scandal in which it charged customers for services they never received.

Chief executive of AMP Craig Meller resigned from the company last week.

Counsel assisting Rowena Orr QC told the royal commission last week that it should be open to finding that in four of the 20 times AMP misled ASIC over a fee-for-no-­service scandal, it breached four sections of the Corporations Act that carry criminal penalties, attracting a fine of up to $180,000, and one section of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act.

Ms Orr blamed the board and senior management, including general counsel Brian Salter for the scandal.

Senior Counsel Rowena Orr, middle. Picture: Eddie Jim.

“The senior management and executives who contributed to the misleading of ASIC over the two-year period had knowledge of the extent and nature of the conduct and were warned by junior staff about it being a breach, but continued with a misleading narrative to ASIC,” Ms Orr said.