Quite rightly:
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told ABC radio the banks should not pass the extra costs onto customers.
“He knows as well as I do that the banks can well afford to pay this,” Mr Turnbull said.
“I can see there’s obviously complaints about it from the big banks – you’d expect that – but it’s very similar to levies of this kind in other countries.”
Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said Mr Henry’s criticisms were unfounded and the banks had more than sufficient cash buffers to absorb the costs.
“Ken Henry is certainly well-intentioned. However, he’s also not infallible,” Mr Ciobo told ABC radio on Tuesday morning.
“Ken Henry, of course, designed the first iteration of the mining tax, which would have seen taxpayers refunding coal miners and iron-ore miners for losses in recent years, so I think there’s some policy work historically that hasn’t been ideal.”
You’re a sell out, Ken, plain and simple.
