Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hanson for that question. The government, of course, is taking action when others are proposing that we should have yet another inquiry in the form of a banking royal commission. What the government has done is boosted the resources of ASIC; boosted the powers of ASIC. We forced the bank CEOs to appear on a regular basis in front of a relevant parliamentary committee to be accountable to the public in relation to their performance. You mentioned a series of reviews that have been taking place in recent times. This of course builds on the very substantial financial systems inquiry which this government conducted, which also identified a whole series of necessary improvements. It builds on work that was done all the way back by Senator Bushby as chair of the banking inquiry a few years back. Over the last few years, Senator Hanson, this parliament, through its committees, has identified a whole range of improvements, both in terms of financial system regulation and in terms of the powers and the resources that need to be available to ASIC in particular. The government has acted and responded to those recommendations as appropriate. We are always open to talking about how further improvements can be made, but we do not believe that the right way forward is yet another inquiry.