Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens will be supporting the amendments on sheets 206 and 209. They are—to follow on from the previous speaker—testament to the scrutiny that has been applied by the member for Dunkley to this bill and to the debate generally. I should place on the record too that I have been assured that the amendments relating to ordinary-course-of-business exemptions will not substantially lessen competition and will allow legitimate business activities that otherwise might have been hindered by the bill.

I am also pleased to see that the gove­rnment has lifted a number of the member's amendments relating to prescribed classes of goods and services, albeit with redrafted wording. We believe that they put in place a sensible process of consultation should these laws need to be extended in future by any government.

The adoption of the provisions to allow the private disclosure of pricing information to competitors in some circumstances is also welcome. The member has identified circumstances in which the bill may have hindered the work of corporations which does not have a purpose of substantially lessening competition in a market.

We are pleased that the government has agreed to, proposed and reworked some of these amendments, and the Greens, as well, are happy to support these amendments on sheets 206 and 209.

Question agreed to.

I move amendment Greens amendment (1):

(1)   Schedule 1, after item 14, page 13 (after line 14), insert:

14A After subsection 95AC(1)

Insert:

(1A)   The Commission must not grant a clearance to a body corporate that is, or is related to:

(a)   National Australia Bank Limited; or

(b)   Commonwealth Bank of Australia; or

(c)   Westpac Banking Corporation; or

(d)   Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited;

to acquire shares in the capital of a body corporate that is an ADI for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959, or is the holding company of such a body corporate.

14B After subsection 95AT(1)

Insert:

(1A)   The Tribunal must not grant a clearance to a body corporate that is, or is related to:

(a)   National Australia Bank Limited; or

(b)   Commonwealth Bank of Australia; or

(c)   Westpac Banking Corporation; or

(d)   Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited;

to acquire shares in the capital of a body corporate that is an ADI for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959, or is the holding company of such a body corporate.

The House has just spent some time finessing the finer details of the bill—which, as we have noted, the Greens support—but it does strike me that if there were some seriousness about tackling anticompetitive behaviour we would be taking a more active role in preventing what are known to be some of the most blatant examples.

Australia has one of the most concentrated banking sectors in the world, and it is killing competition for consumers. We know that the Australian banking market is more concentrated than it has been for a century. In 2007 the big four banks had a 68 per cent market share of the home loan market, but now the big four banks hold around three-quarters of Australia's deposits and assets and 88 per cent of home loans.

The provisions of this bill are only one piece in the puzzle. The Greens have provided support for the second reading as well as strong support for moves to end price signalling by the banks, but strengthening the powers of the ACCC on signalling will do little to help competition and nothing about growing concentration in the sector. If we are serious about ensuring real competition in the Australian banking industry, we should do more than flog them with a piece of damp lettuce.

My amendment will ensure that the big four banks are not able to take down their competitors by swallowing them up. It will ensure that the ACCC will prevent mergers such as Westpac's takeover of St George in 2008 and the Commonwealth Bank's takeover of Bankwest, resulting in the Commonwealth Bank being clearly the dominant bank in Western Australia. This amendment will protect smaller players and regional banks from the historically predatory actions of the big four, and in doing so it will bring about a healthy change in the culture of Australia's finance sector—and it will result in positive changes for consumers. I encourage all members to join me in addressing the most serious problem in Australia's arguably most anticompetitive sector, and I commend this amendment to the House.

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