Westpac giving a free pass to paedophiles, Peter Dutton says

The bank and its ‘negligent bosses’ come under fire in Question Time from Peter Dutton, who warns ‘a price will be paid’.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton during Question Time. Picture: Getty Images

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has used Question Time to accuse Westpac of giving “a free pass to paedophiles”.

Mr Dutton used a question from a government backbencher to talk up the work of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac), which is taking civil proceedings against Westpac over allegations it has broken finance laws 23 million times.

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“Westpac banking bosses, through their negligence, have given a free pass to paedophiles and there is a price to pay for that and that price will be paid and we have been very clear about it,” Mr Dutton said.

“We have no more important undertaking as a government than to keep Australian children safe. We will continue to do it. It is clear that the Westpac Banking bosses have failed that obligation.

“We will make sure through Austrac and the other entities within the home affairs portfolio that people who commit those egregious offences or breaches of the law will pay a serious price.”

Mr Dutton’s attack came towards the end of the first question time of the final sitting fortnight of the year.

Labor sought to capitalise on the Westpac scandal by using it to delegitimise the government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill.

Anthony Albanese opened up questioning by asking Scott Morrison about an “organisation” that broke money laundering laws 23 million times.

“Was it a union or a bank?” he asked.

The Prime Minister said he introduced a crackdown on bank executives when he was treasurer, through the Banking Executive Accountability Regime.

Mr Morrison said the penalties under his banking executive crackdown are tougher than those in the Ensuring Integrity Bill before the Senate.

“I think banks should take account of their manifest failures and I they union things should also,” he says.

Labor MP Ged Kearney asked Mr Morrison why the leadership of Westpac was “up to the board” when at the same time he “wants to shut down entire unions for minor paperwork breaches”.

Mr Morrison said, by Ms Kearney’s logic, the next time a “union thug breaks someone’s arm” it will be lodged as a paper cut.

“Those opposite, the Labor Party, are looking for any excuse to walk away from what they know is the right thing to do, to ensure that militant unionism has no place in this country,” Mr Morrison said.

Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke then asked why the government has legislation before the Senate that can deregister a union for three paperwork breaches.

Mr Burke contrasted this with Westpac breaking finance laws 23 million times.

Attorney-General Christian Porter says the premise of the question was “absolutely and utterly incorrect”.

“And the question carries an assertion that somehow a union or a branch of a union would be deregistered for non-serious matters,” Mr Porter said.

“Totally and absolutely wrong.”

Question time opened with Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese paying tribute to fire victims, firefighter and communities dealing with the catastrophe.

They also paid tribute to former Labor cabinet minister Bob Humphreys, who died last week.