Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, welcomes the opening public hearing of the Banks Royal Commission and is hopeful that this process will go some way towards the delivery of justice for victims, and provide a road map for regulatory change that will hold big money to account.
Senator Whish-Wilson said, “I have campaigned long and hard for this day to come. But this is not about me, this is about the victims of callous and unscrupulous banking behaviour. The public would like to be assured that the Commissioner has one eye on the delivery of justice for victims and the other on the changes to the financial system that need to be made so that these transgressions never reoccur.
“I will be watching the opening statement looking for signals that the Commission will be congnisent of the deeply painful processes that victims have already been through where they have found themselves always on the wrong side of a massive power imbalance within the legal system.
“In every dispute between a screwed-over customer and the banks, the banks have always had the deeper pockets and the stronger legal muscle. I dearly hope that the Commission ensures that it doesn’t reinforce that power imbalance.
“The Greens will also we watching closely to try to understand how the Commissioner inteprets the Terms of Reference, where it’s focus will be and how it will try to manage the workload within the timeframe provided.
“I would hope that everyone would be aware that any perception of a whitewash will ultimately lead to more outrage and calls for further scrutiny. Let’s get this right this time around: for the financial system, for the victims and for the Australian public,” he concluded.
Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson
