WM Project - Document Title
Conclusion - The Revised Bricks & Mortar Operations
I think I have said enough about climate change and Super for now so let's just finish up with the banks.
No doubt you may have gathered from the pre 2016 extracts above that the world of Financial Services is not a subject on my job resume.
That's beside the point in relation to the WM project. As discussed previously, my job is in part, to identify divisions for inclusion, based on the apparent failure of the Fair Go. Including, business and social service activities where excessive greed, corruption and failed work practices have been reported to the detriment of the nation and the millions powerless to fight back.
In the case of the creation of - A Peoples' Bank & Financial Services - my inspiration, brought on by all the reported acts of misconduct in the sector at the time, was taken from the then governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia - Mr Glenn Stevens - when he said;
"Finance depends on trust. In fact, in the end, it can depend on little else".
He then went on to say; "Where trust has been damaged, repair has to be made".
Banking Royal Commission - Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry
On the 14 December 2017, another Australian signed up to investigate accusations within our banking sector. His job was also to identify problems 'where trust has been damaged and where repair has to be made'. 'Problems' that all Australians were aware of to some extent, but our leaders were allegedly unwilling to fix on our behalf for whatever reason'.
That is; the appointment of the Honourable Kenneth Madison Hayne AC QC, as the Commissioner for the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.
Before we get into that appointment, let's pause to see how we got to this point in time.
1. The argument against...
2. How we got here...
Click on: How did we get here.
Getting back to the appointment...
As far as this project goes, the Honourable Kenneth Madison Hayne AC QC is not just heading a Royal Commission into Banking, but will become known for the key role that he and his team played in the return of the ethos of the Fair Go to the Australian people in the world of alleged financial greed and dishonesty.
In our case, that will be achieved by using the recommendations from the Royal Commissioners Final Report, as the keystone of the building blocks towards the creation of a Peoples' Bank and Financial Services Division as part of the Waltzing Matilda Dot Com Project.
Let's just see what comes out of the final report and its recommendations. Once fully understood, we can workshop the recommendations into the Aims and Objectives of the Financial Division of the project.
Postscript 20th February 2019: I am aware the commissioners final report has been released, however for the purpose of this document, the Commissioners report will be dealt with in the next step of the WM Project. END Postscript
In the case of the Financial Divisions, our objective is to return TRUST in banking to all our customers and for the security of superannuation funds of Australian workers who join our super plans.
As the painstaking and revealing work of the commissioner and his hard working team continues, we could never do a better job of building a Peoples' Bank and Financial Services Division, than to start the process with no preconceptions - but just a symbolic single sheet of blank paper.
The opportunity to create a new bank in Australia immediately after a Banking Royal Commission, provides Australians and by default, the WM Project with a unique opportunity.
Starting with a blank sheet is a huge advantage in rebuilding the trust lost by those banks subject to the commissioner's final report and recommendations. Those recommendations will be our guiding light in returning the ethos of the Fair Go to the financial sector.
Our dedicated finance team will not make the same mistakes of the past when building in safeguards against corruption and greed in the Banking and Financial Services sector.
At the same time, as I am sure the commissioner's report will reveal, our finance team will have a one off unique opportunity to address another of Glenn Stevens observations when he called for a broader debate on misconduct in financial services, warning that governments could not "legislate for culture or character."
A brand new banking division is at a great advantage of not being subject to decades of alleged mistrust in the sector and although it is correct that you cannot "legislate for culture or character", we can build in protections to ensure a belief in our cultural heritage and to act accordingly as we go about regaining trust - now it tatters from the misdeeds of the past now so plainly obvious for all to see.
Do you know what I think tops the lists of our cultural heritage beliefs in Australia? It is the belief in the Australian ethos of the fair go.
You might have read it once or twice already in this document.
Given the opportunity, it is possible to create the building blocks of a new Peoples' Bank.
With a dedicated finance team, along with the advantage of starting off with a clean slate, trust can start to be restored in the Australian Banking sector, simply by sitting down and ticking off all of the recommendations from the commissioner's final report.
The end result; the outline of a Requirement Definition (RD) document, created from the hard fought findings & recommendations of a Royal Commission and a blueprint for the return of TRUST, and the creation of a unique new Australian Bank.
Makes sense to me - that's what I'd do anyway. ☺
Now obviously we won't need the Commissioner and his Band of Merry Men & Maid Marian's to put together all the other bits & pieces of your run of the mill Aussie bank - but we certainly need them to show us all how we all can build an honest one...
There will probably be other uses for his final report as well. How about this one. A full-on marketing campaign that looks at the number of 'like item' recommendations from the commissioner's final report that have been taken up our proposed people's bank, compared to those implemented by the Big 4 banks.
Perusal of those results could be interesting, but let's not forget, the Australian people (and hopefully the regulators) will be expecting at least a draw right across the industry.
As will the Honorable Kenneth Madison Hayne AC QC and his Team...
And with that thought, I hereby present Stage I of the revised version of the Waltzing Matilda Dot Com Project.