Regulators urged be more transparent
The Tasmanian Liberal Senator who found himself at odds with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority when it declined to answer specific questions regarding its handling of MTAA Super has welcomed a move by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to offer more transparency.
Senator David Bushby said he would be encouraging other regulatory agencies to follow the example of ASIC, after the financial service and markets regulator said it would publish details of its compulsory information gathering powers on its website, providing an explanation of the nature of its use of coercive powers.
The push for regulators to become more transparent was also pursued by the Rule of Law Institute.
"Ensuring the public has absolute confidence in ASIC using these sweeping powers appropriately is an issue I've been pursuing for about three years, and I welcome this development," Bushby said.
"This is a significant step forward in guaranteeing our regulators - which have an important role to play to ensure our markets and commercial activities operate with integrity and comply with the law - are accountable for their own actions," he said.
Senator Bushby said he would be encouraging other regulatory agencies to follow suit.
"The public deserves to know the extent of our regulators' powers," he said.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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