Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens do not support this amendment, and that's because we do think an inquiry into the Financial Accountability Regime Bill 2023 and its related bills is warranted. That's because an inquiry could have helped us to get to the bottom of the extraordinary influence that the Australian Banking Association has over both the government and the opposition in this place. We all recall that the Australian Greens had an agreement with Minister Jones to include in the Financial Accountability Regime the capacity for million-dollar fines to be levied against dodgy bankers.

History shows that, very quickly after striking that agreement with the Australian Greens, Minister Jones backflipped, and I have no doubt that that's because the Australian Banking Association reached not just into his office but into the Treasurer's office and the Prime Minister 's office and made it very clear that those fines were not to be included. As a result, there will be no civil penalties in the Financial Accountability Regime for dodgy bankers who do not take the necessary steps to ensure that their customers aren't ripped off.

The Australian Greens very firmly believe that we should be allowing the disinfectant of sunlight to shine on exactly what went on there and exactly why it is that this is a second-class financial accountability regime framework—because it doesn't actually provide the capacity for million-dollar fines for dodgy bankers. Once again, the political donations that occur in this place, which poison so much of our political debate, are again poisoning public policy in this country, because, of course, the big banks are major donors to both the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal and National parties. It's very instructive that the only significant party in this place that doesn't take donations from the big banks—that is, the Australian Greens—is the only party standing up and fighting hard for the inclusion of million-dollar fines for dodgy bankers in the Financial Accountability Regime Bill.

So there was every need, which a reasonable person could see, for an inquiry into exactly what happened and exactly what is the power and influence of the big banking corporations on the major parties and, by dint of their numbers, on this chamber as a whole. Make no mistake, it is the dirty, toxic political donations—the institutionalised bribery that has become normalised in this country—that is corrupting our democracy and corrupting the legislation that this chamber is passing.

So it's a sad day, indeed, when both the Australian Labor Party, in government, and the Liberal and National parties, in opposition, are going to collude to ensure that that disinfectant of sunlight is not able to shine on the dirty and disgraceful machinations that happened and that forced the government, the minister, to walk away from an agreement that they had made to include million-dollar fines for dodgy bankers in the Financial Accountability Regime Bill.

Question agreed to.

Original question, as amended, agreed to.