Call to redefine the role of regulators
The new review of the nation's financial system should help redefine the role of the regulators, according to the Financial Services Council (FSC) chief John Brogden.
Speaking at the FSC/Deloitte panel discussion on Son of Wallis on Friday, Brogden said the overarching theme of the inquiry should be to determine how competitive Australia's financial system is on a global scale and position it to capitalise on this Asian century.
However, he added there was a need to re-define the role of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
"The mandates of ASIC and APRA need to be more firmly set as both organisations have been allowed, and in some areas encouraged during the hung Parliament, to stray out of the boundaries of administrating regulation and into the policy making arena," Brogden said.
"There needs to be a clear demarcation between policy creation by Government and administration of legislation."
Brogden also said one of the dilemmas of the Son of Wallis inquiry would be the funding requirements of the nation versus the savings requirements of the nation.
Superannuation must not be seen as a honeypot to fix everyone's problems, he said.
"We can't lose sight of the primary objective of superannuation which is to get the best return for investors to provide them with an adequate retirement," he said.
"Where there are conflicts the primary objective of superannuation must remain intact. That's what people expect and that's the deal between the Government and working Australians."
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