Labor has demanded the government establish a compensation scheme for victims of banking misconduct, as Turnbull government ministers struggle to deal with the fallout of the royal commission’s revelations after just two weeks of hearings.
In a letter to Malcolm Turnbull, written just hours after the financial services minister, Kelly O’Dwyer, repeatedly refused to acknowledge the government was wrong to delay calling a royal commission Bill Shorten said an extension for the inquiry, an apology and compensation scheme were the “least the government can do”.
“Given the shocking evidence that has been revealed so far, it is time the government gave serious consideration to a compensation scheme for the victims of proven wrongdoing,” Shorten wrote in the letter, which was released to the media late on Sunday.
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“It’s unacceptable for people to suffer because of the misconduct of others, with no dependable access to justice.
“It’s also important that victims of financial wrongdoing have the chance to have their say in this process. There have been more than 3,400 public submissions to date. The public deserves enough time to be properly listened to.
“If the commission needs more time and resources to keep doing their work, Labor call on the government to give it to them. You cannot use the original timeframe as an excuse to cover up further revelations of wrongdoing.
“Furthermore, the victims of this shocking misconduct deserve an apology from your government that this royal commission was not established sooner.”
The former prime minister Tony Abbott and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce have both admitted they were wrong to oppose the royal commission into Australia’s financial sector, after revelations AMP repeatedly lied to the regulator and the Commonwealth Bank continued to charge fees to clients who had died were uncovered by the commission.
The heads of Australia’s biggest banks have also apologised for both the conduct and fighting the inquiry.
But senior ministers have refused to accept it was wrong in principle to delay the commission, despite Turnbull and Scott Morrison only calling the inquiry late last year after National MPs announced they would cross the floor, and following discussions with the banks.
At the time, Turnbull called the inquiry a “regrettable but necessary action”.
Since then, Morrison has announced tougher penalties, including increased jail sentences, for those found guilty of misconduct, but has labelled any suggestion the government should apologise for fighting against holding the royal commission as “political point scoring”, while maintaining the Turnbull government had acted to reign in bad behaviour by the banks.
On Sunday, it was O’Dwyer’s turn to deflect the question, which she did, almost 10 times, during an interview on Insiders.
“You know, it is a bit rich for people to claim that we should have acted earlier, when, in fact, they [Labor] had the opportunity, and when we, a s a government, have been very sober in the way we’ve gone about it,” she said.
“An we are actually getting results or consumers. We care about consumers.”
The Greens had long supported a banking royal commission, which officially became Labor policy in early 2016. The government resisted calls for a royal commission, instead establishing a Senate inquiry, arguing an official inquiry risked becoming a “talk fest” which risked undermining confidence in the Australian banking sector.
That only changed in November last year, when the banks conceded a royal commission could help restore faith in the financial system, after a push from Greens, Labor, Nationals and crossbench MPs threatened to force the government’s hand.
