Kelly O’Dwyer says customers will benefit from bank royal commission

Financial Services Minister’s fiery TV defence of the government over the bank inquiry shows it has learned nothing, Labor says.

Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer refused nine times to concede the government erred by strongly opposing a royal commission. Picture: Britta Campion

Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer’s refusal to accept the Coalition should have agreed earlier to a probe into the banks proved the government had learned nothing from a week of “scandalous revelations” about the industry, Labor says.

Ms O’Dwyer, whose fiery TV interview this morning has been widely criticised, said she was appalled by some of the evidence put before the commission but deflected eight times when asked if the government should have acted sooner.

Instead, she talked up the coalition’s efforts to boost the standards for financial advisers and increase the penalties for misconduct.

Labor‘s finance spokesman Jim Chalmers said anyone watching Ms O’Dwyer’s performance would conclude the government is from another planet.

“They’ve learnt absolutely nothing from all of the scandalous revelations that we’ve heard over the last little while at the royal commission,” Mr Chalmers told ABC TV.

“They still can’t bring themselves to say that they were wrong to run a protection racket against that royal commission for so long.”

Crossbench senator Derryn Hinch tweeted his reaction to the minister’s refusal to accept the government should have acted sooner.

WATCH: Were you wrong to delay a #BanksRC for as long as you did? @barriecassidy sits down with @KellyODwyer #BankingRC #auspol pic.twitter.com/AHl9hplkz8

— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) April 22, 2018

“The words “we were wrong” obviously not in O’Dwyer lexicon. (Barrie) Cassidy 100, Minister nil,” he said in reference to Insiders host who interviewed Ms O’Dwyer.

Government frontbencher Ken Wyatt said the Minister had made decisions based on the information and evidence she had on hand at the time.

“But the government has certainly stepped forward and taken the decision to have the royal commission,” he told Sky News.

“That has certainly thrown up a number of issues for which I have seen the Treasurer Scott Morrison make some very strong comments about the behaviour of individuals within the financial sector.”

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce admitted he was wrong in standing against a royal commission, just days before the head of AMP quit. The commission had heard the wealth manager had lied to regulators and charged customers fees without providing the specified service.

‘NO QUESTION WE GOT IT RIGHT’

Instead, Ms O’Dwyer has admitted customers will benefit from the banking royal commission despite repeatedly refusing to concede the government was wrong to oppose Bill Shorten’s proposal for the powerful probe for more than 18 months.

Ms O’Dwyer said consumers would be better off because of the misconduct unveiled in the Hayne royal commission, contradicting previous statements where she claimed there would be no benefit to customers if the sector was subjected to the public inquiry.

“There is no question we got it right in establishing the royal commission, I’m very happy to say that,” Ms O’Dwyer told the ABC’s Insiders program.

"And you trust them?" @barriecassidy asks @KellyODwyer when she says banks will put savings from company tax cuts into wage increases #Insiders #auspol #BanksRC #BankingRC pic.twitter.com/NLzmuXsnSa

— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) April 22, 2018

“They will benefit from the action we have taken, they will benefit from the royal commission as well.”

In a tense interview with Insiders host and former Hawke government adviser Barrie Cassidy, Ms O’Dwyer refused nine times to concede the government erred by strongly opposing a royal commission until it reluctantly established one in November due to a revolt from Nationals MPs.

Ms O’Dwyer said the government had taken the “right action” and had to be “sober” in its deliberations on whether the royal commission was appropriate.

She said the government was initially focused on taking immediate action rather that waiting for an inquiry, spruiking the government’s moves before the royal commission to give more teeth to the corporate regulator and limit the upfront commissions of financial advisers.

She also talked up the government’s decision to include the insurance and superannuation sectors in the terms of reference of the inquiry.

“We did it soberly, we did it carefully. We wanted to take action straightaway to address those issues that we knew about,” Ms O’Dwyer said.

“We reflected on whether, in fact, it was the right thing to do to establish it and we decided it was. We have done it, we have established it, not only with very broad terms of reference rather than the narrow focus that some might have actually had instead.

“But we have also put in place a very good royal commissioner who I think is demonstrating what a fantastic job he is doing, what the royal commission is doing, in actually getting to the heart of these issues.”

The Opposition Leader backed a financial services royal commission as official Labor policy in April 2016, receiving strong criticism from the government and the sector.

All four major bank chief executives told The Weekend Australian they were wrong to ever oppose it.

Malcolm Turnbull labelled the royal commission “regrettable” when he announced its establishment.