This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Scott Morrison has declined to apologise for resisting calls for a banking royal commission, instead rounding on Bill Shorten for “political point scoring”.



The treasurer said on Friday the Turnbull government had been rolling out reforms to financial services for some time in response to widespread reporting about scandals within institutions, since launching the financial systems inquiry after the Coalition was elected in 2013.

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Asked whether it was time to apologise for making the wrong call on the royal commission, Morrison said he had noted calls from the opposition leader to that effect but the government was moving on.

“Bill Shorten might be interested in political point scoring about this issue – in fact, he has been interested in political point scoring about this issue – and that’s why I directed those comments at Bill Shorten, and Bill Shorten specifically,” Morrison said.

“What we’ve been doing is being focused on getting the job done.”

The treasurer said when it came to the Labor leader, it was “always about Bill”.

“This is a serious issue relating to our banking and financial and superannuation system and the public wants us to focus on getting stuff done. I don’t want to engage in political point scoring with Bill Shorten.”

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The financial services minister, Kelly O’Dwyer, said Shorten’s record in government in the financial services portfolio was not without blemish.

O’Dwyer insisted the government had been taking action from day one, and was intent on restoring confidence to the financial planning sector. “We are cleaning up the system that Bill Shorten ignored.”

On Friday, the chief executive of AMP confirmed he would stand down immediately following revelations from this week’s hearings that the company had repeatedly lied to the regulator.

The government also confirmed it would toughen the penalties for financial services executives involved in misconduct. The maximum penalty for 19 of the most serious offences will be increased to 10 years’ imprisonment for individuals or $9.45m for corporations.

Morrison said Friday’s announcement on penalties “had a very long gestational period” dating back to the financial services inquiry in the first term of government.

“The fact that we can stand before you today and announce the outcome of this long period of work demonstrates that we have been working on this for a very long period of time, and working sequentially through the issues that need to be addressed,” the treasurer said.

“We have not moved into any area here lightly.”

He suggested the government had resisted calls for the royal commission before establishing one last year on the same rationale. “You must act carefully in this area.”

Morrison said Australia’s banking and financial services system remained solid in an institutional sense despite the damaging revelations at the royal commission.

“I can assure Australians that, despite the very disturbing and indeed shocking revelations we have seen in the royal commission, particularly of late, that these issues, as abhorrent as they are, are completely separate from any question about the stability and strength of Australia’s banking and financial system,” he said.

“That is rock-solid.”