❓ Mr. Love questions the Premier about the Perth Mint controversy and the newly formed Senate inquiry. The Premier defends the government's actions and criticizes the Senate inquiry as politically motivated and unnecessary, highlighting ongoing investigations and reforms.
AnsweredQoN 428Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PERTH MINT —
SENATE COMMITTEE INQUIRY
428. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I refer to today's
establishment of a Senate select committee to investigate the deeply concerning
controversy surrounding the Perth Mint, including events leading to the
appointment of an external auditor by the Australian Transaction Reports and
Analysis Centre, events leading to a London Bullion Marketing Association
incident review process, and matters
concerning governance and reputational damage caused by the Mint's
failure to comply with regulations.
(1) Does the Premier now agree that
this is more than a storm in a teacup?
(2) Will the
Premier commit to the public that his government will not stand in the way of
transparency and will comply in full with all requests from this important
committee?
SENATE COMMITTEE INQUIRY
428. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I refer to today's
establishment of a Senate select committee to investigate the deeply concerning
controversy surrounding the Perth Mint, including events leading to the
appointment of an external auditor by the Australian Transaction Reports and
Analysis Centre, events leading to a London Bullion Marketing Association
incident review process, and matters
concerning governance and reputational damage caused by the Mint's
failure to comply with regulations.
(1) Does the Premier now agree that
this is more than a storm in a teacup?
(2) Will the
Premier commit to the public that his government will not stand in the way of
transparency and will comply in full with all requests from this important
committee?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
think it is extraordinary the amount to which the opposition in Canberra looks
to state issues in order to provide itself with some form of relevance or
something to comment on. I assume it is, in part, an implicit endorsement of everything that the commonwealth
government is doing and therefore the federal opposition tries to seek
answers elsewhere for its own irrelevancy. I note that the commonwealth did not
support the Senate motion on this select committee. The commonwealth government
has stated that matters of corporate and regulatory compliance have always been
taken seriously, which is the reason AUSTRAC, the Australian Securities and
Investments Commission and other regulatory authorities are looking into it.
The state government shares the commonwealth's view. AUSTRAC and a leading
expert are doing an independent audit of Perth Mint's compliance with
federal anti–money laundering and counterterrorism laws. It is also why
the Western Australian government has invested $34 million to overhaul Perth
Mint's internal systems and procedures. The WA government has also
commissioned a comprehensive strategic review into Perth Mint's future.
AUSTRAC, the commonwealth government and the WA government are taking all these
matters into account and are taking them very seriously. I think the Senate
inquiry is unnecessary, but, of course, the Senate is the master of its own
destiny and it can inquire, form committees and
do what it sees fit. To paraphrase the federal Minister for Finance, Senator
Gallagher, the commonwealth government does not support a Senate inquiry
that is driven by state politics. She said it would be disrespectful and undermine due process. I think that is right. The
problems at Perth Mint were years in the making. This government is resolving those issues and working
assiduously with commonwealth authorities to get to the bottom of those
matters, but, of course, also making sure that it progresses into the future in
an appropriate way.
think it is extraordinary the amount to which the opposition in Canberra looks
to state issues in order to provide itself with some form of relevance or
something to comment on. I assume it is, in part, an implicit endorsement of everything that the commonwealth
government is doing and therefore the federal opposition tries to seek
answers elsewhere for its own irrelevancy. I note that the commonwealth did not
support the Senate motion on this select committee. The commonwealth government
has stated that matters of corporate and regulatory compliance have always been
taken seriously, which is the reason AUSTRAC, the Australian Securities and
Investments Commission and other regulatory authorities are looking into it.
The state government shares the commonwealth's view. AUSTRAC and a leading
expert are doing an independent audit of Perth Mint's compliance with
federal anti–money laundering and counterterrorism laws. It is also why
the Western Australian government has invested $34 million to overhaul Perth
Mint's internal systems and procedures. The WA government has also
commissioned a comprehensive strategic review into Perth Mint's future.
AUSTRAC, the commonwealth government and the WA government are taking all these
matters into account and are taking them very seriously. I think the Senate
inquiry is unnecessary, but, of course, the Senate is the master of its own
destiny and it can inquire, form committees and
do what it sees fit. To paraphrase the federal Minister for Finance, Senator
Gallagher, the commonwealth government does not support a Senate inquiry
that is driven by state politics. She said it would be disrespectful and undermine due process. I think that is right. The
problems at Perth Mint were years in the making. This government is resolving those issues and working
assiduously with commonwealth authorities to get to the bottom of those
matters, but, of course, also making sure that it progresses into the future in
an appropriate way.
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