April 25, 2018—Australian Member of Parliament (MP) Bob Katter has announced that he will be introducing legislation to establish Glass-Steagall-style regulations on the Australian banking system. Rep. Katter, who represents Kennedy in Queensland, is collaborating with the Citizens Electoral Council (CEC), which has recently drafted the Banking System Reform (Separation of Banks) Bill 2018 as part of its campaign to establish banking separation. Rep. Katter plans to introduce Bill 2018.
The purpose of the Bill, as explained in an April 11th release from the CEC, is to protect bank customers and their deposits:
- from the kinds of exploitation currently being exposed at the Financial Services Royal Commission inquiry ongoing in Australia;
- from the risks of financial speculation; and
- from a financial crash.
The Bill is closely modelled on FDR’s Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 , and the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act (S. 881) that is currently before the U.S. Senate to restore the separation of commercial banks from speculation.
Rep. Katter’s bill will be introduced as a Private Member’s bill, which requires another MP to second it. There is currently a mobilization under way to secure both the second, and passage of the bill.
In putting Glass-Steagall on the table, Australia will join the United States and Italy, which have similar legislation before Congress and Parliament, respectively. Opposition from the London and Wall Street mega-banks has stalled action in those countries, despite the growing indications of a coming financial blowout. This move in Australia, which is formally under the thumb of the British Crown, should provide new inspiration for the international fight to defeat the banking predators, before they bring on a new disaster worse than that of 2008.
Tags: Australia, Glass-Steagall