Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

I want to put on the record that Labor will not be supporting this amendment. The fact that this amendment has been raised so late—in fact it only emerged this week and really wasn't raised until this week—suggests that this amendment is more about grandstanding than considered policy to address this issue with banks, of which Labor is very, very aware. The ultimate sign that it is a stunt is that we have One Nation and the Greens voting together. This amendment would not fix issues with the banks that have come to light over recent years. Evidence has not been provided to suggest it would have the impact of addressing cultural issues and poor practices in banks. Labor has consistently argued that the most crucial thing needed to address cultural issues, misconduct and poor practices in the banks is a royal commission. Banker wages need scrutiny, but this must be done in a considered and careful way, and only a royal commission can properly attend to this matter, amongst many others.