Australian Securities and Investments Commission is still asleep at the wheel. It was the case when HIH went belly-up in 2001 and big bad Smokin' Jo Hockey was the person to whom ASIC reported any financial concerns. Here it is again sipping on coffee in its plush offices instead of keeping a watchful eye on the corporate cowboys trading in the guise of banks.

Regulators 'not awake' as banks behaved 'appallingly': Costello

Former federal treasurer Peter Costello has issued a scathing critique of Australia's corporate regulators, saying they were "not awake at the wheel" as the big banks behaved appallingly.

Mr Costello said the bank royal commission would probably mean tougher regulation and lower profitability for the bank sector, but he saved his biggest serve for the likes of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which reported to him in his days as treasurer.

Mr Costello said evidence presented at the banking royal commission made it clear that some of the big banks behaved "appallingly".

"It's clear that the people that were responsible for administering the banks probably haven't done their jobs," Mr Costello said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-29/where-were-the-regulators-asks-costello-about-bank-misbehaviour/10178378

Thanks scoop. Anyone within the citadel known as ASIC facing the chop or a reduction in salary?

It should be disbanded & all present officers sacked, if not some of high ranking officers even facing criminal charges of dereliction of duty.

Then reformed under another name with a more rigorous charter and with people who will do their jobs.

Chaps just don't spy on other chaps, you realise?

Considering that all of ASIC's investigators would have been appointed under the present Tory Government(s), I wonder why the blame isn't being shafted home to the Tories?

Oh, that's right, you're both Tories, aren't you?  Oh, dearie, dearie, me.  Sorry for my mistake, whyever did I think the Tories would accept responsibility for what their Government(s) have done.   ::) ::)

The Tories did it.... can't expect ASIC to actually work while rounding up their hefty retirement packages, can you?  Just not done.... and you need the co-operation of business to succeed, and it all works so much better if you avoid conflict through intruding on their activities...

Brian Ross wrote on Aug 31^st, 2018 at 3:01pm:

Chaps just don't spy on other chaps, you realise? Considering that all of ASIC's investigators would have been appointed under the present Tory Government(s), I wonder why the blame isn't being shafted home to the Tories? Oh, that's right, you're both Tories, aren't you?  Oh, dearie, dearie, me.  Sorry for my mistake, whyever did I think the Tories would accept responsibility for what their Government(s) have done.   ::) ::)

Dearie , dearie me, Bwian is home early from school today.

Could it be that the fabulous Hawke-Keating period created a monster when the Commonwealth Bank was privatised? Maybe the CBA, encouraged by its new ALP inspired charter led the way in its cowboy style behaviour.

The 'People's Bank': the privatisation of the Commonwealth Bank and the case for a new publicly-owned bank

Among the policies for which the Hawke-Keating Labor government is remembered, two of the most prominent were privatisation and financial deregulation. The combination of these two policies was symbolised by the conversion of the Commonwealth Bank from the 'people's bank' to a private organisation devoted to maximising returns to its shareholders and managers, and free of any social or community obligations. Even more than financial deregulation, the Hawke-Keating government's embrace of privatisation represented a fundamental break with the traditional policies of the Labor Party. The political damage associated with privatisation was immense. Not only was the sale of 'icons' like the Commonwealth Bank regarded with immense hostility, even in conservative sections of the electorate, but these actions, taken in breach of the most explicit promises, destroyed Labor's credibility in arguing against the sale of Telstra in the 1996 election campaign.

http://www.uq.edu.au/economics/johnquiggin/JournalArticles01/CBAPrivatisation01.html

Thanks Bob and Paul.

salad in wrote on Aug 31^st, 2018 at 6:47pm:

Brian Ross wrote on Aug 31st, 2018 at 3:01pm: Chaps just don't spy on other chaps, you realise? Considering that all of ASIC's investigators would have been appointed under the present Tory Government(s), I wonder why the blame isn't being shafted home to the Tories? Oh, that's right, you're both Tories, aren't you?  Oh, dearie, dearie, me.  Sorry for my mistake, whyever did I think the Tories would accept responsibility for what their Government(s) have done.   ::) ::) Dearie , dearie me, Bwian is home early from school today. Could it be that the fabulous Hawke-Keating period created a monster when the Commonwealth Bank was privatised? Maybe the CBA, encouraged by its new ALP inspired charter led the way in its cowboy style behaviour. The 'People's Bank': the privatisation of the Commonwealth Bank and the case for a new publicly-owned bank Among the policies for which the Hawke-Keating Labor government is remembered, two of the most prominent were privatisation and financial deregulation. The combination of these two policies was symbolised by the conversion of the Commonwealth Bank from the 'people's bank' to a private organisation devoted to maximising returns to its shareholders and managers, and free of any social or community obligations. Even more than financial deregulation, the Hawke-Keating government's embrace of privatisation represented a fundamental break with the traditional policies of the Labor Party. The political damage associated with privatisation was immense. Not only was the sale of 'icons' like the Commonwealth Bank regarded with immense hostility, even in conservative sections of the electorate, but these actions, taken in breach of the most explicit promises, destroyed Labor's credibility in arguing against the sale of Telstra in the 1996 election campaign. http://www.uq.edu.au/economics/johnquiggin/JournalArticles01/CBAPrivatisation01.html Thanks Bob and Paul.

This is what John Pilger wrote in his book “The new rulers of the world”, on page 175. 


Like Britain and the US, Australia is a single-ideology state with two competing factions, discernible largely by the personalities of their politicians. The difference between the Howard’s conservative coalition and the opposition Labor Party is that Howard’s policies are not veiled. The Labor governments of the 1980s and early 1990s oversaw the greatest redistribution of wealth in the country’s history: from bottom to top. They were Thatcherite and Reaganite in all but name. Indeed, Tony Blair described then Prime Minister Keating as his ‘inspiration’.