SYDNEY (Reuters) – A rebel member of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s coalition government is circulating a draft bill to step up pressure for an official inquiry into the country’s scandal-hit banks.
Although the prime minister has staked much political capital on defending the banks, his government’s control of parliament is teetering over a citizenship crisis, giving the bill a chance of passing by the end of the year.
A banking inquiry would turn up the heat on the country’s “Big Four” banks, which have been grilled by cross-party parliamentary committees over scandals including providing misleading financial advice, insurance fraud and rate-rigging.
The draft bill, reviewed by Reuters, was being circulated late this week by Barry O‘Sullivan, a senator of the junior coalition partner, the National Party. It calls for a wide-ranging inquiry to appeal across the political divide.
Turnbull has previously rejected public and opposition calls for an inquiry into the banks but the leader of the Liberal-National-led coalition is languishing in opinion polls and has lost his majority in the lower house. Several lawmakers were forced to quit because they had dual citizenship, making them ineligible for office under the constitution.
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