Days after revealing his battle with Parkinson's disease, John "Wacka" Williams has vowed not to bow out of federal parliament a hypocrite.
The Nationals senator, an outspoken critic of bad behaviour in the banking sector, will cross the floor to support a private Greens bill to establish a rare form of parliamentary inquiry into the banking and financial services sector.
"All I want to do when I leave this place in a bit over two years' time is to see this sector cleaned up, see ASIC doing their job better, see people getting good financial advice, to have confidence in their institutions," he told parliament on Thursday.
"I'm not going to leave this place in a bit over two years' time saying that at some stage I made a hypocrite of myself - I'm not that sort of person."
Senator Williams has long backed a royal commission into the financial sector, having become involved with the issue of white collar crime after the Storm Financial crash in 2009, which saw many mum-and-dad investors lose their homes.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
He revealed last week that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2016, but is confident he can serve out the rest of his term to June 2019.
Senator Williams acknowledged his vote would have little impact given there was enough support to pass the legislation in the Senate.
The bill to establish a commission of inquiry has the support of Labor and most of the crossbench.
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson says he's just one short of the 76 majority needed to get it through the lower house.
"We're just one short - that's one scandal away from getting the person we need, I can tell you," he told parliament.
"This prime minister is never going to call a royal commission. This prime minister is running a protection racket for the financial services industry."
Meanwhile, a Senate inquiry report into penalties for white collar crime and corporate misconduct, tabled in parliament on Thursday, has recommended tougher civil penalties for individuals and corporations.
The Labor-dominated committee also recommended the government introduce disgorgement powers for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for non-criminal matters, allowing it to recoup profits made from wrongful conduct.
