Media Release: Senate casts doubt on proposed changes to lending laws

November 9, 2020

The Senate today supported a Greens motion condemning the government for abandoning the key recommendation of the Banking Royal Commission.

“The Senate has today cast doubt on whether the government has the numbers to tear up responsible lending obligations, which was one of its major budget announcements,” Greens Economic Justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

Greens Treasury spokesperson Senator Peter Whish-Wilson and Leader Dr Richard Di Natale have this afternoon welcomed the release of the interim report of the Banking and Financial Services Royal Commission, saying we must now undertake serious reform to clean up the endless greed in the sector.

“Scott Morrison famously said when announcing this Royal Commission that it would not be ‘capitalism on trial’, but it’s now clear that’s exactly what it is, certainly it’s the worst excesses of capitalism on trial,” Senator Whish-Wilson said.

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, has reiterated calls for investment property to be treated as a financial product in the wake of the 4 Corners report on the state of the housing market in Australia.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Australia’s housing market is a debt-fuelled bubble driven primarily by tax breaks to investors. This is distorting the entire economy, creating enormous financial risk, and pushing the price of housing out of the reach of young people.

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, responded today to the Commonwealth Bank’s record profit announcement.

“The announcement of a $10 billion profit by Commonwealth Bank is emblematic of what is wrong with the Australian economy.

“Despite having a record of bad behaviour as long as your arm, CBA is making record profits and paying their executives millions and millions while ordinary Australians watch their wages freeze and the cost of housing spiral out of control.

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, has labelled the decision by the Commbank board to cut just the short-term cash bonus of Ian Narev and his colleagues, while leaving the remainder of their bonuses in-tact as simply 'stunning'.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “The big bucks should stop with the Commonwealth Bank CEO and senior executives. Not one of them should get a single cent in bonuses, whether those bonuses are in shares or in cash, or whether they relate to this year’s performance or the last four years.