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Greens tell Labor to move on from 'bank-bashing' to implementing reforms

The Australian Greens want Labor to stop playing politics in their bid to extend a banking royal commission and let the reforms to the sector get underway.

Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, left, wants Labor to end the bank bashing and help reform the system.

Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, left, wants Labor to end the bank bashing and help reform the system. Source: AAP

The Australian Greens are blaming federal Labor for playing politics to push out the banking royal commission rather than support a roll-out of reforms to the sector.

Labor wants to extend the royal commission to hear more personal stories from the 10,000 submissions sent in, only 27 case studies have been heard so far, but the Greens say the major party wants to bank-bash.

"It's time to move on from bank-bashing rhetoric to bank-changing policies," Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said.

"If we all agree the system is broken then it's incumbent on us all to put forward policies to fix the system. We can't just rely upon political jawboning the banks to make them act properly, it's going to take serious legislative reform."

The Greens want to move onto structural issues such as the separation of banking from financial advice and superannuation and changes to executive remuneration, its submission to royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne QC's interim report reveals.

It also called for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissioner to be the conduct regulator for retail products and services, not the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

"This royal commission must think big. In the same way the misconduct is systemic, the response must be systemic. The best way to ensure victims of misconduct by the banks are not forgotten is to undertake reform to stop it happening again," the submission reads.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly said royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne will be given more time if he asks for it, but on Friday it was still not deemed necessary.

The commission's interim report was released in September, with the final report with recommendations for changes to the sector, to be given to the government by February.


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