Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Dimity Hirst is a mother of four children in the electorate of Lyons. Dimity says that ANZ tried to sell her and her husband's farm out from under them. Just before Christmas in 2013, Dimity says she got a phone call from ANZ telling her that her locks would be changed and to, 'Pack your bags and get out.' Dimity says she has not defaulted and not missed a payment. Is the government so out of touch that it will deny a royal commission into the banks for ordinary Australians like Dimity?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question, and I would be very happy to receive the details from the member and have them referred to ASIC, who has the powers and authority to investigate into these matters and follow them up. Alternatively, these matters can be taken up with the Financial Ombudsman Service. I encourage the member to put the constituent in contact with the financial ombudsman, and my office would be very pleased to assist with that.

The member may also like to know that ASIC, in relation to ANZ in more recent times, started legal action against ANZ for alleged rigging of the bank-bill swap rate in March of 2016. In the same month, following an ASIC probe, ANZ will conduct an independent review of its one-part subsidiary after ASIC found 1.3 million customers were affected by breaches requiring $50 million in refunds in compensation. In March as well, an ASIC investigation forced ANZ to pay penalties of $212,500 for breaching responsible lending laws on offers of overdrafts. My point is this: ANZ has been required, in relation to actions by ASIC, to undertake recompense in relation to these matters. ASIC is the cop on the beat that is doing the job that is required of it.

Each day in our communities, we see things that happen that we prefer would not happen. That is why we have law enforcement authorities. But that does not mean you have a royal commission every time there is a break-and-enter. What you do is ensure the police are well sourced and well focused on doing the tasks that we entrust to them. It is our job as a government to ensure that ASIC is equally focused, tasked and resourced to do the job. Those opposite increased the efficiency dividend for ASIC from 1.25 per cent to 2.5 per cent in one of their last acts as a government. We have initiated a capability review into ASIC, which we will be announcing our response to shortly, which will address the issues that will enable ASIC to be able to even better deal with the issues that come up in the banking and the financial system.

We take these issues incredibly seriously—so seriously that, last July, we initiated that capability review. There was no call from the opposition to do that. They had just finished voting against a royal commission in the Senate at the time. There was no call for a royal commission when the FSI response was provided by this government. There was not a whisper from those opposite. But, as an election comes, they propose a royal commission which is designed to help only one person—the Leader of the Opposition. It is not intended to support bank consumers and customers; it is just intended to bolster and prop up the stocks of a Leader of the Opposition who is focused on one Australian—himself.