An extension of banking royal commission could be good for PM

Allowing the drama-packed bank inquiry more time could mean its final report emerges after the next election, not before it.

Mathias Cormann and Malcolm Turnbull are open to the idea of allowing the banking royal commission more time. Pic: AAP

So the Turnbull government is now open to the idea of extending what was to be a short, sharp and year-long royal commission beyond next February.

Who’d have thought?

The word on the street is that flexibility in the election timetable has a lot to do with it.

Last month, Malcolm Turnbull ruled out calling an early poll, saying an election would be held in the first half of 2019.

With commissioner Ken Hayne due to release his final report next February, it would be much more convenient if the inevitable public anger and finger-pointing were to occur after the election rather than before it.

What better way to ensure such an outcome than allowing an extension of commissioner Ken Hayne’s worthy mandate well into next year?

“We will take our advice from (Hayne),” Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said last week.

“I mean if the royal commissioner says to us that there is more work to be done, that he needs more time, then obviously the government would act on that.”

Speaking of Cormann, the links between the government, national law firm Clayton Utz and the royal commission are now worthy of former ALP president Barry Jones’ famous noodle nation graph in 2001.

Cormann’s wife Hayley is a senior associate in Clutz’s Perth office, where Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was a commercial litigation lawyer before becoming a partner in 1985 and managing partner in 1994.

Mathias and Hayley Cormann Pic: Matt Jelonek.

Bishop’s brother, Doug, is a litigation partner in Clutz’s Sydney office.

As we now know, courtesy of the Hayne royal commission, AMP group counsel Brian Salter retained Clutz, where he was once a partner, to do a so-called “independent” report on AMP’s fees-for-no-service scandal.

We also know that Clutz prepared 25 draft reports, workshopping them with AMP and Salter, among others.

Clutz is also advising Commonwealth Bank in the royal commission.

Sadly, a Google search of Clayton Utz, Ken Hayne and financial services royal commission only yields 3420 results.

There’s more work to be done.