The ACCC ruled last year that allowing ANZ to buy Suncorp would reduce banking competition. Today, the Australian Competition Tribunal disagreed and allowed the merger.
The Tribunal’s decision is a wasted opportunity when Suncorp should have been bought and turned into a People’s Bank. There is some logic to the Tribunal’s decision. Australian banks are, at best, a cartel and at worst, a monopoly – one bank with many logos. In short, there must be competition before that competition can be lessened. Our banks do not compete – they work together.
This is a result of the same foreign merchant banks holding controlling shareholdings in all of Australia’s major banks. In turn, the banks behave in exactly the same way, offering almost identical risk management, products, fees and charges.
Banks are working in collusion to close bank branches and eliminate cash, to force everyday Australian consumers into more electronic banking services, from which banks profit.
Banks are acting together to de-bank competitors like crypto exchanges and bullion dealers, using their market power to squash their competitors. The result is obscene profits ($35 billion last year), much of which is sent as dividends to foreign merchant banks.
This is what the Tribunal has decided is an acceptable way to run banking in Australia.
Last year I proposed using the Future Fund to buy Suncorp for their asking price of $5 billion and then turn it into a people’s bank, one that would operate with their customers’ interests at heart, in a fair, ethical and honest manner.
One Nation will continue to campaign for a people’s bank and I call on Treasurer Jim Chalmers to use his powers to direct the ACCC to investigate collusion, common ownership and restrictive trade practices being conducted by the Big 4 banks.
It’s time to force real competition between the banks and establish a People’s Bank.
Key stakeholders have universally supported establishing a COVID Royal Commission while many slam the Prime Minister’s COVID review panel as a toothless tiger.
Doctors, unions, human rights lawyers, vaccine injured and Royal Commission experts were among the witnesses to give evidence at a Senate inquiry tasked with proposing terms of reference for a future COVID Royal Commission as pressure mounts on the Albanese Government.
In a rarity for parliamentary inquiries, every single witness was united in their support for an expansive, fully empowered Royal Commission into the Federal and State Governments’ response to COVID.
Senator Malcolm Roberts who established the Senate inquiry said the evidence heard on Thursday meant it was only a matter of time before the Prime Minister’s hand was forced.
“The largest government economic and health response in the wake of COVID deserves a fully empowered Royal Commission.
“Nearly four years on from the start of COVID-19 Australians still don’t have answers about why Government took some of the most draconian measures in Australian history.
“Anthony Albanese’s COVID review panel is made up of insiders who vocally supported the harshest lockdowns in the world. It’s a toothless tiger made to whitewash everything the Federal government did while turning a blind eye to anything State governments did.
“The Albanese Government took less than three months to call its first Royal Commission. With the Government’s second anniversary approaching without a COVID Royal Commission Australians are asking the Prime Minister, what have you got to hide?
“Only a Royal Commission can answer why government had vaccine mandates for a vaccine that didn’t stop transmission, secret health advice that was never published, established plans for pandemic response that were ignored and the longest lockdowns in the world called over a virus as severe as some flus.
“We cannot afford to make the same mistakes again. Anthony Albanese must call this Royal Commission so we can get to the bottom of it all.
ENDS
A recording of the public hearing is available below:
https://i0.wp.com/www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-01-at-8.59.55-pm.png?fit=827%2C416&ssl=1416827Senator Malcolm Robertshttps://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/One-Nation-Logo1-300x150.pngSenator Malcolm Roberts2024-02-01 21:50:432024-02-01 21:53:21PRESS RELEASE: UNIVERSAL SUPPORT FOR COVID ROYAL COMMISSION AT FIRST INQUIRY HEARING
Senator Malcolm Roberts declared Prime Minister Albanese’s trip to China redundant while critical Australian manufacturing is offshored and essential commodities are shipped to the communist regime. He said:
“The net zero Transition is a national security risk to Australia and China knows it. China has a monopoly over almost every element of the wind, solar and battery supply chain.”
“China hasn’t had to apologise at all for its campaign of economic coercion against Australia to secure this meeting with Albanese. They will do it again if we try to stand for our interests.”
“China continued to be our number one trading customer throughout the diplomatic freeze, proving they need our high-quality coal and iron ore more than we need them.”
“We ship coal and iron ore to China, they use it to make cheap electricity and steel, then our net-zero chasing government pays to buy solar panels and steel wind turbines back off them.”
“The Labor government’s continued kowtowing to China on critical industries and dropping our sure-to-win WTO complaint over wine and barley will not work.”
“China will only ever respond to strength. If the previous years have taught us anything, it is that we should be doing everything we can do get out of Communist China Party supply chains and bring manufacturing back to Australia.”
https://i0.wp.com/www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image.png?fit=927%2C620&ssl=1620927Senator Malcolm Robertshttps://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/One-Nation-Logo1-300x150.pngSenator Malcolm Roberts2023-11-07 08:56:522023-11-07 08:57:01MEDIA RELEASE: CHINESE DIPLOMACY USELESS UNTIL AUSTRALIAN INTERESTS PUT FIRST
The union bosses claim that Labor’s latest Industrial Relations legislation will “close the loophole” of casual workers being paid less than permanents, especially in the mining sector.
You can’t step on site without a union enterprise bargaining agreement, so how are casual workers getting ripped off when they’re working under union negotiated agreements?
The answer is that some union bosses are getting kickbacks from labour hire companies in exchange for passing through dodgy agreements that allow casuals to be exploited.
The Fair Work Commission is meant to stop this, but they’re either asleep at the wheel or deliberately not doing their job.
Transcript
1 November 2023
Presenter
The Fair Work Legislation Amendment, known as the, “Closing Loopholes Bill,” held its hearings in Rockhampton this week. Announced by the federal government in September, the Closing Loopholes Bill aims to criminalise wage theft, introduce minimum standards for workers in the gig economy, close the forced permanent casual worker loophole, and close the labour hire loophole.
It’s all about that thing that we’ve been talking about for yonks, and that is, if you’re doing the same job as someone else, you should get the same pay. One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts is in Rockhampton for the hearings, and he’s been raising the issue of the exploitation of the permanent casual workers in CQ miners for years. Frazer Pearce asked him if the proposed legislation would provide a better outcome for miners.
Malcolm Roberts
Look, my position on this Fair Work Act for a start, the current act as it stands, without Labor’s latest draft amendments, is 1,200 pages long, and they’re wanting to add another 800 pages. It already makes the workers vulnerable because there’s no way any single worker or small business can understand it; and it helps the IR club. All regulations in that help the major groups like the major banks, the big pharma, and the Industrial Relations Club.
That’s the lawyers, the Union bosses, the Industry Associations for multinational companies. It hurts the workers. I’ve seen that firsthand in Hunter, the Hunter Valley, and in Central Queensland. The second point I’d make is that we wouldn’t be having this inquiry if it wasn’t for the fact that the cross bench has moved it to extend the opportunity, to extend the reporting date from October through to next February. We would not be here listening to the views of industry unions and individual workers, if it wasn’t for the fact that we got an extension till next February.
The Labor Party voted against that extension. They don’t want to listen to people. We voted in favour of it. It’s a very important bill. It’s a huge bill. Big ramifications for workers as well as all players in the industry. The third point I’d make is that current employment in the coal industry at least, is that illegal employment of casual, supposedly casual, in coal is only possible, only possible, with a mining and energy union endorsed enterprise agreement.
We’ve seen that. I can go into detail if you need, but this is probably not the time. But the Mining Union in the Hunter Valley in particular, and to some extent in Central Queensland, has been passing enterprise agreements that do not protect the basic rights of workers. They don’t meet the award criteria as a basic minimum. They don’t meet the National Employment standards as a basic minimum.
They have been selling out workers in the coal industry and what we need for a solution is just a simple enforcement of the Fair Work Act. Now, early on in the proceedings and dealing with these issues, I proposed the, “Same work, same pay” bill. It’s very simple bill. But what I’ve since realised in doing more work, listening to miners, is that all that’s needed is to enforce the current Fair Work Act.
Frazer Pearce
What’s the level of, do you think of exploitation against these workers? Are you saying it’s widespread or it’s just isolated?
Malcolm Roberts
Yes, it’s widespread and it varies in severity. They’re paying well below the award and as I said, the award is the basic minimum. They have not done , they’ve not done the boot test, which is the, “better off overall test”. And that’s how these dodgy agreements have got through that are shafting coal miners in Central Queensland and the Hunter Valley. They have left out basic leave entitlements.
They don’t pay casual loading. Casuals are not legally allowed to be employed in the coal industry other than in a dodgy agreement, which is unlawful in itself; because they bypass the normal processes. People are missing out on leave entitlement. People are, as a result of being hired casual, short term, are threatened with dismissal at any time, people are afraid to raise safety incidents.
There’s a culture of fear there. There’s a culture of fear at many mines from people standing up and and afraid of standing up. There’s also been a lack of reporting of injuries. New South Wales in particular, we suspect also Queensland. There’s a, basically there’s a loss in some cases of workers insurance, workers’ compensation, accident pay. These are fundamental rights.
Frazer Pearce
Is this going to be a strong platform for you in the next election? Was it a vote winner for you in the last one?
Malcolm Roberts
We don’t do things to get votes. We do things because they’re right.
Presenter
That’s One Nation Senator, Malcolm Roberts having a chat with ABC Capricornia Frazer Pearce, talking about the closing loopholes bill. The hearing’s being held in Rockhampton at the moment. It’s a couple of minutes to eight.
I joined Nathan Birch, the Host of No BS with Birchy, to discuss with him the reasons the government are increasing immigration to Australia and what are the proposed strategies to rebuild Australia on a national level.
I joined Topher Field of The Aussie Wire to discuss my disappointment in the “toothless” COVID inquiry Anthony Albanese announced recently.
Transcript
Topher Field: Cast your mind back to before the last federal election. If you can remember that long ago, and you may recall that promises were made. Specifically, Anthony Albanese promised that if he were to win election, he would hold a Royal Commission into COVID, looking into all the various aspects of the COVID response. That was quite some time ago, and the Royal Commission has not been forthcoming, but good news, we’ve just had the announcement of an inquiry. Surely that means that Anthony Albanese is making good on his word, and we will have a full and thorough inquiry into all aspects of the COVID response so that lessons can be learned and we can get it right next time. My next guest isn’t quite convinced and has released a press release to that effect. It is Senator Malcolm Roberts from the Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party. You’re a senator for Queensland, and I’m very, very grateful for you coming on The Aussie Wire.
Malcolm Roberts: Thank you very much for the invitation, Topher. It’s always a pleasure to have a chat with you.
Topher Field: Now your press release caught my eye, but honestly, there has been quite a lot of commentary on this already. This is something that a lot of people are very quick to point out. The terms of reference are a concern, are they not? Can you take us through your concerns and why you felt the need to release that press release?
Malcolm Roberts: Certainly, I do share huge concerns. I’ll make a quote from Dan Andrews. He says, “Any inquiry into COVID-19 should be forward-focused and not centre on the actions of government during the pandemic.” The premiers have rolled the Prime Minister because the premiers have done the dirty work for Scott Morrison, and the media release, as I pointed out, this is toothless. There’s no power to compel witnesses. It’s compromised because there’s a limited scope. It’s federal only. It’s a whitewash to protect labour premises, as I’ve said. For example, they raised the topic of international border closures in the terms of reference but not state. So it’s strictly federal.
He’s running from a Royal Commission, yet the same man, Albanese Anthony Albanese, had a Robodebt Royal Commission, which was far smaller. Robodebt was far smaller in cost impact. So he has broken his promise regarding a Royal Commission on the COVID tragedy, mismanagement, deceit. This COVID, what would you call it? COVID mismanagement was the most invasive and expensive responses in Australia’s history. We’re still suffering from it. We’ve got a high inflation. We’ve got excess of 40,000 excess deaths due to the COVID injections. We’ve got lingering injuries. This morning I am at a small business conference back in your old town of Melbourne,-
Topher Field: My hometown, yes.
Malcolm Roberts: … and I went to print out my speech just for practising it, and a lovely lady printed it out for me at the help desk, and I saw that she was walking very awkwardly. Sure enough, and this is months and months after her third injection, but there’s no doubt. I’ve got people, friends at home, who’ve been paralysed. They literally woke up in the morning, and they’re paralysed from the neck down. The three people they’ve appointed to be their reviewers for this panel, it’s not an investigation, it’s not an inquiry, it’s a review, the three insiders appear to be compromised. They appear to be former public servants, and one or two of them look as though they’ve had lots of grants in the past, and this will be a ticket for lots more grants in the future. So what I’m going to do, Topher, is, before the end of the year, as I said in my media release, I’m going to ask the Senate for an inquiry to recommend the Royal Commission in terms of reference because we’re going to have one.
Topher Field: Look, we need to. With the powers that were seized by governments, state and federal, and the sorts of things that they did, it’s quite extraordinary to think that we’re going to have an inquiry. But that inquiry in the terms of reference, correct me if I’ve misunderstood, explicitly excludes unilateral actions taken by a state, and yet during the pandemic we had now admittedly a different political party. The liberal party Prime Minister at the time, Scott Morrison, was sitting there saying, “Oh, the federal government can’t do so many different things. It’s up to the states.” And now that we’re having an inquiry, we’re excluding the decisions made by the states. Isn’t that where the response was, according to the federal government of the time?
Malcolm Roberts: I happen to think that the key response was in Scott Morrison, but the implementation was in the premier. So the premiers hold the can. They did it. They did it. So I agree with you entirely. We’ve had media criticising, we’ve had opposition, which you’d expect to criticise. We’ve had doctors criticise, I think, the front page headlines on the Australian newspaper today this evening, words to the effect that the medical practitioners have come out against it. So we’ve got, as you said, the terms of reference include the following areas, are not in scope for the inquiry.
Topher Field: Yeah.
Malcolm Roberts:Actions taken unilaterally by state and territory governments and international programmes and activities assisting foreign countries are not in it. That’s pretty much everything they did.
Topher Field: Yeah.
Malcolm Roberts: Then you get infectious disease expert Peter Collignon today, and I’m reading from these notes I made for you. He told the Australian, “A Royal Commission should examine measures taken to curb COVID infections, including those taken by states as their utility will not be probed during an inquiry.” He said, “Were lockdowns beneficial? Were border closures beneficial? This is an infectious diseases doctor stopping people going outside for more than an hour. That is what affected people personally the most.” He said, and the people that’ve got on this review, they’re not the sort of people who understand what everyday people suffered. They won’t understand what you suffered at the hands of that tyrant, Dan Andrews. This is ridiculous. It’s just a whitewash to protect Dan Andrews, Annastacia, Palaszczuk and the other labour premiers. McGowan was the other one, wasn’t he?
Topher Field: Yeah. Some people could be forgiven for asking the question. Senator Malcolm Robertson, yourself, and if I can mention a few names, we’ve had some wonderful work from senators Alex Antic, Gerard Rennick, Matt Canavan. Ralph Babet is a recent edition, but he’s really making a name for himself and getting stuck in. We’ve got a handful of really fantastic people who are getting stuck in on this issue. There are other great politicians who are getting stuck in on other issues as well, but just singling it down to this issue. We’re seeing a handful standing up, but we’re not seeing a lot of results.
Some people get very disillusioned. They say, “You’re a politician. Fix this. Why can’t you fix this for us?” We’re in a situation now where yourself and a handful of others are saying, “We need a Royal Commission.” The government is saying, “You’re not going to get one. All you’re going to get is this incredibly prejudiced whitewash inquiry.” What’s to be done from this point forward? You’re saying you’re going to be calling for a Royal Commission. You’re going to hold a Senate inquiry. What are the mechanisms at your disposal? How do we move forward from here towards what we all want to see?
Malcolm Roberts: I’ll be asking for the Senate to prove an inquiry to develop the terms of reference. The Senate will give me permission or not give us permission for that inquiry, just as the Senate does in every other request. So that’s one thing I’ll be doing some work. We’re lining that up at the moment, but doing an inquiry of our own, much the same as we did in March and August of 2021, I think, I can’t remember, 2022, where we had a multi-party, cross-party inquiry. But this one we’ll probably do in-house because it’s going to take a lot of getting top experts from around the world, particularly from Australia, and a whole variety of people, not just experts but also vaccine injection-injured people.
So we’re working on those kinds of things. But you might notice that every week in the Senate, I give an update. Two of my staff team are just wonderful on this issue, and we give an update every week in the Senate. We didn’t do it last week because we were flat out, but we give an update on the latest things unearthed around the world, and it is startling what’s coming out. It is absolutely beyond my most wonderful expectations. So we’re really getting there, and we’ll put a lot of pressure on these people to come clean, Topher, so we’ll just keep the pressure up. We will continue this forever until we get the Royal Commission, until we get the truth out, and until the guilty are punished.
Topher Field: The future is written by those who show up, and Senator Malcolm Roberts, I’m grateful that you just keep showing up every day, every week in that Senate, despite overwhelming odds against you at times. Like I said, there are some other wonderful people in there, but you continue to show up, you continue to persevere, and you continue to chip away. I tend to share your optimism. I look at what’s happening around the world. I do think we are making progress. Sometimes it doesn’t look that way, but I do think we are. The narrative has shifted, and the sins of the past are coming home to roost on those who committed them, and it can’t come soon enough as far as I’m concerned. Senator Malcolm Roberts, thank you for your press release today. Thank you for continuing to try and hold the federal government accountable, and he’s hoping we will see that Royal Commission someday. Thank you for coming on The Aussie Wire.
Malcolm Roberts: You’re welcome, Topher. Keep going with what you’re doing. Aussie Wire needs success. For Australia’s sake, we need success of the independent new media. Thank you very much for doing what you’re doing.
Senator Roberts has slammed the Albanese Government’s toothless inquiry into COVID, calling it an effort to hide from a Royal Commission with powers to compel testimony. Senator Roberts said:
“The Albanese Labor government is running away from a Royal Commission that would actually have the power needed to investigate Australia’s COVID response.
Anything less than a COVID Royal Commission is a betrayal of everyday Australians and small business who were badly affected by our COVID response over the last three and a half years.
One of the first things the Government did when elected was call a Royal Commission into Robodebt. If that justifies a Royal Commission how can the government argue one of the most expensive and invasive responses in our history doesn’t? They can’t unless they’re trying to run a coverup.
The COVID response involved over $500 billion in printed money causing the inflation problem we are still facing, 30,000 excess deaths this year with 50% not being attributed to COVID, the largest invasion of civil liberties in modern Australia and all of it was done in secrecy.
Instead of appointing three insiders to cover up the actions of their colleagues, we need a Royal Commission with the power to peel back the secrecy that both State and Federal politicians and bureaucrats have hidden behind for years now”.
Before the end of the year I will ask the Senate to replace the Prime Minister’s Clayton’s inquiry, instead asking the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee to report and recommend terms of reference for a COVID Royal Commission to be established in the first half of 2024.
https://i0.wp.com/www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/210923-Media-Release.jpg?fit=772%2C519&ssl=1519772Sheenagh Langdonhttps://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/One-Nation-Logo1-300x150.pngSheenagh Langdon2023-09-21 16:05:162023-11-07 14:39:04Senator Roberts Rejects White-Wash Inquiry and Calls for COVID Royal Commission
In the wake of Channel 7’s shocking Spotlight investigation on Sunday 3 September 2023 into the transgender epidemic, join me as I talk to a mother who has successfully fought the BigPharma gender cult to protect her two daughters.
https://i0.wp.com/www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Podcast-Snip.jpg?fit=1397%2C784&ssl=17841397Sheenagh Langdonhttps://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/One-Nation-Logo1-300x150.pngSheenagh Langdon2023-09-13 13:06:322023-09-13 13:06:36The Malcolm Roberts Show
https://i9.ytimg.com/vi/nmwTHFlLpoA/mq1.jpg?sqp=CNj96bUG-oaymwEmCMACELQB8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-CYAC0AWKAgwIABABGF8gZSg8MA8=&rs=AOn4CLDn_7jjn9pTjcUEVZBCDIE03Ic2ZA180320Senator Malcolm Robertshttps://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/One-Nation-Logo1-300x150.pngSenator Malcolm Roberts2023-09-04 19:35:002024-08-13 07:37:10The Voice: A Conversation with Anthony Dillon
https://i0.wp.com/www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Capture.png?fit=821%2C499&ssl=1499821Senator Malcolm Robertshttps://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/One-Nation-Logo1-300x150.pngSenator Malcolm Roberts2023-02-02 10:59:142023-02-02 11:01:05The Alex Jones Show with Maria Zeee
