The banks can't put profit before people anymore

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Judgement day for capitalism is a reminder why we need the Greens in the Senate.     

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Yesterday, Commissioner Kenneth Hayne delivered his final report on the Royal Commission into Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.

When this Royal Commission was announced, the government promised it would not be capitalism on trial. This is one thing we’re happy the government got wrong.

The Royal Commission has instead exposed the worst excesses of capitalism. Banks have been found out lending money to people who can’t afford it, selling insurance that doesn’t insure anything, pushing people into super funds that lose them money, and charging fees to dead people.

Commissioner Hayne has also asked a fundamental question: how much profit is enough?

We hope that the Commission has recommended strong reforms and look forward to the government releasing the final report as soon as possible.

But now that the Commission has finished its work it’s a good time to remember that this Royal Commission would not have happened without the Greens in the Senate. 

Well before Labor got on the bandwagon, it was the Greens who were pushing for this inquiry and who put up the idea of a private member’s bill in the Senate to force the government’s hand. 

And the Greens have also followed up with a comprehensive plan to fix up Australia’s banks. In the same way that misconduct in banking has been shown to be systemic, the response must be systemic. The best way to ensure victims of misconduct by the banks are not forgotten is to undertake the reform necessary to stop it happening again.

The Greens would:

• Break-up the banks to stop the cross-selling.
• Establish a publicly-owned “People’s Bank” to provide some real competition.
• Put the ACCC in charge of conduct regulation.
• Cap executive pay.
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You can have a look at the detail of our plan here.

The banks can’t go on putting profits before people. Business as usual is not an option.

Only the Liberal and Labor parties stand in the way of progress and while there are Greens in the Senate we will hold them to account. 

Senator Peter Whish-Wilson Greens Treasury spokesperson