Morally bankrupt banks must be investigated
The similarity with the call for a royal commission into banks and
the one into the NSW Police Force in 1995 could not be more striking.
That inquiry exposed endemic corruption. A total of 380 officers left
the force and a number were convicted. The then police
commissioner, Tony Lauer, however, retired on a full pension.
Prior
to the royal commission a NSW parliamentary committee was established
to examine the relationship between Lauer and police minister Ted
Pickering. As an independent MP committee member, I witnessed lying,
prevarication and cover-up.
The commission forced massive reform
of culture, practice and structure. The subpoena of documents,
witnesses, forensic examination, whistleblowers and expert cross
examination revealed what the chief investigator Nigel Hadgkiss called
the biggest exposé of corruption in any police force in the world.
Now,
21 years on, the focus is on the unconscionable actions of banks. As
with police corruptions and the sexual abuse of children, the victims'
stories must be told, investigated and acted upon.
The bankers in
charge massaged the recent parliamentary committee hearings. Without a
royal commission, they remain in control of the information, evidence,
process and the witnesses.
John Hatton (former independent member for the South Coast) Nowra
NOTA BENE: The similarity with the call for a royal commission into banks and the one into the NSW Police Force in 1995 could not be more striking
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journalist who uncovered a stunning tale of police corruption
