Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

We know what has gone wrong, and what we are delivering is one major reform after another. Customers and small businesses that have been let down will have a one-stop shop, a financial complaints authority, to go to: where they can get their matters resolved. Bank executives who do the wrong thing will be out. The level of regulation over their bonuses will be such that they will not be able to get all of their pay in one hit. It will be staggered over a period, 40 per cent post-dated and 60 per cent for CEOs, so that if things come out of the woodwork it can be clawed back. What we are doing is taking the recommendations that have been made over many inquiries and many reviews and that we know need to be acted on now.

What the Leader of the Opposition is doing, in his gutlessness and in his pathetic populism, is promising years and years of lawyers. Honestly, it is as though this was a great idea that the member for Isaacs gave him. Many, many lawyers, lots of fees—

An honourable member: Post-political employment.

Yes, post-political employment perhaps for the member for Isaacs. He could retire from parliament and join to become counsel assisting. It would be very lucrative for him. The fact is this: we know what has gone wrong with the banks and we know they have let down their customers. We are putting in place the mechanisms to deal with that. The one-stop shop will be in operation, as recommended by Professor Ramsay. It will go into operation now. We are getting on with it. We are getting on with the reforms to executive remuneration. We are getting on with the reforms to regulation so that executives, senior executives, who do the wrong thing, who do not call out wrongdoing and who do not act on malfeasance will be out of the business. Now that is tough. These are tough measures and we are doing them now. So the honourable member may be more interested in litigation than action but we are interested in protecting Australian consumers and customers of the banks right now.

Can I tell the honourable member—I will let him in on a little secret: the banks are not scared of a royal commission, sunshine. They have got plenty of lawyers and big law firms. What they are concerned about is being held to account, and that is what we have done. (Time expired)

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