2016-09-05
Greens Spokesperson for Treasury and Consumer Affairs, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, provides the following comments on the Commbank and Storm Financial revelations published today by Michael West.
Senator Whish-Wilson said, “I have written to Commbank today asking it to respond to and explain the revelations in a Michael West article that suggest that Commbank may have had an arrangement with a representative of a victims’ group without the knowledge of the group members themselves.
“These sorts of revelations undermine public confidence in the financial sector’s regulation and detract from our Australian banks’ social license to operate. Commbank needs to urgently respond to this latest set of allegations against it.
"Recommendations from a recent Senate Economics Committee report into the catastrophe of forestry managed investment schemes made damning recommendations around the complex and murky world of compensation settlements for victims, including the need to further scrutinise this area.
“We need to shine a light on all of these sorts of dealings and only a Royal Commission can do that. Through my work on Senate committees I have seen first-hand that victims of financial wrongdoing have to wait many years for any sort of justice or compensation to be delivered, if they are fortunate enough to receive any justice at all.
"The banks are multibillion dollar profit-making machines and can afford to fully pay out victims of wrongdoing and work towards restoring their social licence,” he concluded.
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