George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

We're not proposing a banking royal commission. I don't know if you've been keeping up with this debate very closely, Senator Gallagher, but what Mr Howard said was to endorse the government's position of opposing a banking royal commission, for all the reasons I explained to Senator Georgiou. It was Senator Georgiou who pointed out to the chamber a few moments ago that, since the GFC, we've already had 17 inquiries. Intelligent political decision-making consists of identifying an issue and responding to it in an appropriate way. The government's view is that a banking royal commission is the least effective and most cumbersome way to respond to this issue, because, as I pointed out to our colleague Senator Georgiou, it will go forever—it will go for years, literally for years—and nothing will happen for all the years that the royal commission is underway. In the meantime, lawyers will make a fortune, customers will get nothing out of the process and we will have a long, navel-gazing inquiry into the integrity of the financial system, which our economy doesn't need, without any productive outcome. As a result of the government's response to several of the inquiries to which Senator Georgiou has referred, the government is already responding to instances of banking misconduct, and is responding in particular to the hardships of customers which have been suffered as a result of that misconduct.

Let me mention to you again the review being conducted by Professor Ramsay of the University of Melbourne— (Time expired)