Federal Member for Macquarie – Susan Templeman MP
ROYAL COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENT A WIN FOR MACQUARIE
After 601 days of Labor calling for a Royal Commission into the banks and finance sector, the Prime Minister and Treasurer finally announced they would hold one.
What’s not clear is whether it’s the Royal Commission that we want.
It is expected to investigate the conduct of banks, wealth managers, superannuation providers and insurance companies. The inclusion of the insurance sector in this Royal Commission is a big win for bushfire prone areas like the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains. Many people who went through the 2013 Blue Mountains bushfires have a real understanding of how the insurance system failed them as they attempted to make a claim to rebuild their home.
But the Government has failed to consult with the victims of banking and financial scandals in preparing the guidelines for the inquiry.
Labor promised a Royal Commission into the banks at the last election, and we have continued to pressure the Turnbull Government into holding one because it is the right thing to do. The Prime Minister finally caved in but for all the wrong reasons – he’s doing it not because the victims asked him to, but because the banks asked, and we now need to make sure that the Turnbull Government does it right.
Mr Turnbull has always been on the side of the banks. Now it’s time for him to be on the side of the consumers.
For a successful and comprehensive Royal Commission now to occur, it is critical that victims groups, the Opposition and other stakeholders are formally consulted on its Terms of References.
I will be fighting to ensure that any unscrupulous conduct of banks, the financial services sector and insurance companies is brought to light in this Commission.
This Royal Commission should not be driven by a desire to give banks and insurance companies some sort of tick of approval, but for a desire to see justice for individuals and businesses who’ve been systematically mistreated by these powerful institutions. It’s about us as customers and about restoring trust in the financial sector.
