Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Is it not in the national interest to cooperate with the Volcker inquiry? That is the reverse of your argument. What you are effectively saying is that the AUSTRAC CEO can cooperate with the government of a foreign country, but it cannot provide information to a multilateral body such as the United Nations or a body that is otherwise juxtaposed, where you then have to ask which government you have to go to in order to talk to the body. It is a supranational body. Your arguments earlier about ASIS wanting direct access are apposite here. It is the same argument you put then. The reason you have amended it to include ASIS—and we have agreed to it—is that you want direct access to financial intelligence. That makes sense.

Can you then confirm that AUSTRAC has never provided information to FATF, the Financial Action Task Force—the body that we then deal with in terms of their responsibilities to be able to make recommendations and deal with anti-money laundering? This is about whether this government is serious about cooperating in anti-money laundering not only nationally but also internationally, and not only with foreign governments but also with other bodies, including the UN, especially given what Volcker said about this government’s attitude when he tried to inquire. It could have been put to bed then if we had an international perspective. You are still now arguing against it. I am amazed.