Senator with ‘axes to grind’ passes motion to extend royal commission
Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson has passed a motion in the Senate which calls on the government to extend the banking royal commission.
The motion, supported by Senator Derryn Hinch, Brian Burston and David Leyonhjelm among others, moves to extend the commission by 12 months.
The Senate just passed my motion calling on the govt to extend the #BanksRC #Greens pic.twitter.com/kbYLWqd70e
— Peter Whish-Wilson (@SenatorSurfer) June 28, 2018
Senator Whish-Wilson tells Ross Greenwood he’s got his “own axes to grind”.
It comes after the commission heard the tragic stories of farmers gutted by the banks.
He tells Ross he wants to look into foresty managed investment schemes.
“You could have a whole royal commission just on that kind of agricultural lending, the massive Ponzi lost $4 or $5 billion of investment money and… nearly everyone’s got away with it scot-free.
“It important the stories are told Ross, and I think apologies definitely help but having heard similar stories… we also need compensation.”
Click PLAY below to hear the full interview
Former Tasmania cattle farmer Michael Hirst has accused ANZ of showing no empathy or compassion.
He fronted the royal commision and said he and his family had been “belted to bits”.
Speaking with Ross, he says ANZ “held all the joker cards”.
“By the time they finished with us, we were in the depths of the perfect storm.
“The imbalance of power was huge.
“If you can image farmers trying to deal with banking and lawyer language and trying to get a grip of what’s going on, it’s absolutely impossible.”
Michael says changes in culture need to start from the top.
“The top lets the culture filter down through the employees and they are the ones that either need to change tomorrow or they need to move on.”
Click PLAY to hear Michael’s story