TED O’BRIEN MP
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR FAIRFAX
PAT CONAGHAN MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER
SHADOW MINISTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES
MEMBER FOR COWPER
MEDIA STATEMENT
In an extraordinary development, the ACTU has publicly criticised Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ oversight of Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) — declaring that “working people should not have to pay for APRA and ASIC’s failures.” They’re right to be alarmed.
The ACTU’s criticism comes after Labor revealed it is considering slapping a levy on super funds to cover the exploding cost of the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR).
Yet again, the Albanese Government is demonstrating there is no limit to their willingness to pillage Australians’ nest eggs.
The CSLR has become a disaster under Labor – with the levy already forecast to exceed $120 million in 2027 before accounting for compensation to the 12,000 Australians with $1.2 billion at risk from the First Guardian and Shield collapses. Had ASIC acted on warnings sooner, victims could have been spared.
Under Jim Chalmers, Australia’s financial regulators are slipping. Misconduct is rising, consumer losses are growing, and confidence in the system is weakening. Instead of strengthening oversight, the Treasurer is actively weakening it.
Labor is trying to water down the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority (FRAA) — a key Banking Royal Commission reform implemented by the Coalition to ensure APRA and ASIC are properly scrutinised.
Under Labor’s changes, FRAA would only be required to review the regulators once every five years as opposed to at least every two years as was originally recommended by the Royal Commission.
Five years between checks is not accountability — it’s a holiday.
A watering down of accountability after the Banking Royal Commission is a slap in the face for the more than 12,000 Australians caught up in First Guardian and Shield. They deserve a government that holds the regulator to account for their failings.
The ACTU’s criticism should be a wake-up call for the Treasurer. When even the union movement is calling out failures at ASIC and APRA under his watch, something is seriously wrong.
This is the same Treasurer who has not bothered to update ASIC’s Statement of Expectations since coming to office — a basic tool every government uses to hold the regulator to account. After more than three years in the job, Jim Chalmers still hasn’t told ASIC what he expects of them.
Labor likes to talk tough on financial crime and consumer protection, but every action it takes weakens oversight and shields the regulators from scrutiny.
Jim Chalmers should reverse course immediately and stop dismantling the Royal Commission’s reforms. Australians deserve regulators that are effective, independent and accountable, not weakened at the very moment oversight is most needed.
It’s time for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to show a shred of leadership and step in once again to clean up his Treasurer’s mess.
ENDS