Scott Ryan (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the chamber. The government opposes this motion for a royal commission. The government recognises that Australia's banks and banking executives have not always lived up to the standards expected by the community, but the government does not support appointing a royal commission into banking and financial services. The government continues to support our regulators in ensuring the integrity of our finance and banking system, ensuring consumer protections are watertight and ensuring that malpractice is punished. A royal commissioner has no power to enforce the law, whether through taking prosecution action against a person or body, making findings of a breach of law, or imposing fines or penalties. We need to focus on implementing the reforms needed to strengthen our financial system. We have already started implementing measures to improve consumer outcomes, including improving the professional standards of financial advisers.