Ross Hart (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We have received a sermon from the minister regarding a failure to act but, if any party in government has failed to act, it is the coalition. This is a government which, time and time again, talk a big game in regulation but absolutely fail in regulation. We saw them fail in regulation with respect to the empowerment of ASIC, the funding of ASIC and the enforcement powers of ASIC. They opposed a royal commission into banking misconduct. The now Prime Minister dismissed the calls for a royal commission and voted against a royal commission 26 times. The government speak of ASIC. At the time, they dismissed the call for the appointment of a royal commission as being a 'tough cop on the beat'. But it wasn't a tough cop on the beat at all. That much is perfectly clear in the revelations in the royal commission.

This government failed to properly fund its regulators. It is clear to me that it was captured and continues to be captured by big business. All of us have been shocked by the revelations of the royal commission, notwithstanding that we are aware of the substance of the misconduct alleged. It is important that we do consider the fact that we were all aware of the substance of what was being alleged. You would have to be sleeping under the proverbial rock to not be aware of it. What did this government do? It said it was giving additional powers to ASIC, powers that have never been exercised, powers that have never been used to prosecute any offenders with respect to malfeasance.

More can be done. This bill is a good start. More should be done, even if this government have done in this bill only what they thought they can get away with. What did they think they can get away with? The minimum. Perhaps not a light touch because they have increased the penalties, but certainly lighter than what the community demands as an appropriate and proportionate response. After all, this is a delayed response.

The bill increases penalties. It should do so. Those increased penalties, as my friend the shadow minister said, are inadequate. This bill, in implementation of the ASIC enforcement review task force, is delayed. The recommendations that this bill is based upon are now completely out of date. The bill implements the recommendations of that task force report which was released in December 2017, a time before the establishment of the royal commission and certainly before the royal commission received any of the evidence which has so shocked Australian families and has shocked everyone in this place.

The proposed amendments are to increase maximum jail terms for the most serious corporate crimes. It's completely inappropriate for this minister to get on his high horse and accuse Labor of using this for political purposes when what we are doing is completely proportionate. We are doing what the public expects when we introduce the regulation which, clearly, the public expects to see our legislators arguing for. We on this side of the House are certainly prepared to stand up to this government in arguing for increased penalties. Any talk of a race towards the bottom regarding these penalties is absolute nonsense. That is an attempt by those opposite to deflect their longstanding culpability in opposing for over 300 days the establishment of the royal commission and seeking to deflect the royal commission with the assertion that ASIC would be the tough cop on the beat.

We know that more needs to be done and that more can be done, and this side of the House is prepared to ensure that appropriate penalties are established in this legislation.

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