Banks royal commission: O’Sullivan takes a leaf out of Smith’s SSM playbook

Renegade LNP senator Barry O’Sullivan says the royal commission into the banks will be a ‘cathartic event’.

LNP Senator Barry O'Sullivan. Picture: AAP

Renegade LNP senator Barry O’Sullivan says the royal commission into the banks will be a “cathartic event” that was only achieved by mimicking the tactics used by West Australian Liberal MP Dean Smith in building support for a same-sex marriage bill.

Senator O’Sullivan yesterday forced the government into a policy backflip over a banking inquiry after he gained enough support to pass his own financial services probe through both houses of parliament in open defiance of the Turnbull cabinet.

He welcomed the prime minister’s decision to take control of the issue by announcing a $75 million royal commission, saying it was time for the banks to have the “shutters pulled back and the lights turned on”.

Queensland LNP MP Llew O’Brien — who signalled his intention to cross the floor in the lower house to support Senator O’Sullivan’s bill — told The Australian the announcement showed “responsible leadership” from the Prime Minister at a difficult time.

Queensland Nationals MP ­George Christensen, who was also prepared to cross the floor to vote for Senator O’Sullivan’s bill, questioned why it took a number of “National Party backbenchers to drag the Prime Minister kicking and screaming to this decision”.

“Almost two-thirds of Liberal National Party supporters, according to opinion polls, time and again support a royal commission into the banking sector,” he said. “But we’ve got the decision, it’s a good decision and I’m hoping that this is going to be a thorough root-and-branch review of the banking sector.”

Senator O’Sullivan said the Nationals had “come out of this in a very strong light”, acknowledging that one of the by-products of his push for an inquiry was a more distinctive branding for the party when compared with the Liberals.

He said Mr Turnbull had provided the pathway for the parliament to legislate for a banking inquiry after he allowed same-sex marriage to be advanced in the form of a private member’s bill.

“This was opportunity on a grand scale,” Senator O’Sullivan said. “My feet went into the footprints of Senator Smith. There was anger and frustration over how many of us were dealt with in relation to that (same-sex marriage) ... but this was driven by excitement, not anger.”

Senator O’Sullivan has previous experience with the implementation of recommend­ations from the Black Deaths in Custody Royal Commission and the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police misconduct.

He said Mr Turnbull had spoken to him earlier in the week and listened to his concerns that the measures taken by the government so far would not change the culture of the banks.

NSW senator John “Wacka” Williams — who has long called for a royal commission into white-collar crime — welcomed the announcement. “What I want to see is a close look at the culture — see that it is not a case of simply profit before people,” he said.

Resources Minister Matt Canavan — who opposed a banking inquiry — said he did not think a royal commission was necessary. “I think the government is already dealing with a lot of these issues,” he told Sky News.