Labor Must End ASIC’s Obfuscation

The Senate cannot properly investigate ASIC whilst it continues to obfuscate. With the support of the Executive Government, ASIC has treated the Senate with contempt since we established our ASIC Inquiry last October. We cannot do our work whilst this secrecy continues. It is disappointing that the Executive Government believes that ASIC should be beyond reproach. The Executive Government should support our Inquiry to build a strong corporate regulator and end white collar crime in Australia. The Minister representing the Treasurer, Katy Gallagher, by Order of the Senate, is now required to explain to the Senate why ASIC has failed to comply with our orders. The explanation Minister Gallagher provides tomorrow must satisfy two tests: 1. It must end the cover-ups and secrecy by ASIC; 2. It must commit to cease the Executive's interference in the Inquiry. Firstly, it is clear that there are serious enforcement and governance issues at ASIC which have been covered up. When the Senate has ordered ASIC to provide documents relating to our Inquiry, they rely on public interest immunity (PII) claims to block disclosure. If we were seeking sensitive documents relating to current investigations, this would be understandable. But ASIC is using PII to cover up their past law enforcement inaction to the Senate. We want to know why ASIC’s law enforcement is defective. This cannot be achieved without access to and inspection of ASIC’s internal investigation and prosecution processes. The Senate has unanimously ordered the production of case files on Nuix, ALS, super insider trading and Magnis. In December, ASIC claimed PII by refusing to provide documents relating to their investigations of Nuix. With this investigation complete, there is no basis to keep these documents from the Senate. Despite our continued orders for these documents, as recently as July, ASIC wrote to the Committee refusing to provide these documents. Instead, ASIC requested an in camera hearing, which is closed to the public. This is ASIC further delaying the Senate’s work, and impeding our ability to perform our oversight responsibilities. ASIC has also used PII to refuse to provide the Senate with documents relating to an internal investigation conducted into ASIC’s Deputy Chair. ASIC has been covering up this investigation since I first asked ASIC Chair, Joe Longo, about it during Senate Estimates in February 2023. Initially, Mr Longo did not recall the investigation but corrected the record just 30 minutes later. Since then, using PII, ASIC has failed to provide any information to the Senate about this investigation. Secondly, under Labor, the Executive has sanctioned ASIC’s use of PII. Labor has given ASIC cover to hide behind PII claims. In March, the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, refused to comply with the Senate Order for the Production of Documents in relation to Treasury’s investigation into ASIC’s Deputy Chair. Writing to the Senate, the Treasurer claimed that PII existed over the investigations. The Treasurer claimed that; “there is a public interest in preserving the integrity of fact-finding investigations regarding an individual's conduct.” The Treasurer should not be placing the interests of the ASIC Commission above the public interest. The public deserves to know what allegations were made against ASIC’s Deputy Chair, and what actions were taken where $200,000 of taxpayers funds was expended on a secret investigation. This is not isolated, with this Executive Government continuously defending ASIC’s obfuscation. Late in July, the Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, wrote to the Senate defending ASIC’s use of PII in refusing to provide closed case files. According to Minister Jones; “an in camera hearing is the appropriate way forward.” The Committee is seeking information about these closed cases because they could shed light on ASIC’s ability to achieve prosecutions in certain circumstances. The Executive Government must stop defending ASIC. The excessive use of PII is impeding the Senate’s ability to properly investigate. ASIC is out of runway but the Albanese Government keeps extending it. It is now up to Labor to put an end to ASIC’s obfuscation.

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