Thread by @JennaPrice

Pretty excited because just about to hear @adele_ferguson interviewed by @jameschessell at the launch of #bankingbad at @Gleebooks (Is it possible to heart a royal commission because I do?)

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks everybody is here including @jmwhistleblower (bless his cotton socks) for the launch of @adele_ferguson's #bankingbad here at @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower And @jameschessell tells @adele_ferguson how much he enjoyed the book. Entertaining. Infuriating. Depressing. It has new insights. They've worked together on a few big yarns but "none bigger than this" #bankingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower The books has characters such as @JMwhistleblower and Wacka Williams and plenty of baddies, such as Dodgy Don. @adeleferguson's #bankingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @adeleferguson's #bankingbad @Gleebooks says that @SenatorWacka shared the terrible experience he had as a victim of banking misconduct. He managed to track down the bloke who sold him the bad loan.

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka The bloke told him he was under pressure from head office. #bankingbad

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka The big four banks created a culture of selling, says @jameschessell. @adele_ferguson explains what cross selling is and how it worked to exploit customers. #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka A bank teller would be encouraged to think of customers as walking targets. Selling. Selling. Selling. @adele_ferguson @jameschessell #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka I don't think so, says @adele_ferguson when @jameschessell asks her if Keating made a mistake in privatising @CommBank. But there were mistakes made. #bankingbad

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank Prior to the GFC, financial advisors had boomed. They were just flogging products. A base salary of $70K but the commissions were huge, making hay. Putting people into products that were all wrong for them. @adele_ferguson @jameschessell #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank One such was TimberCorp. It was a Ponzi scheme. It collapsed. Regulators called in. What happened? asks @jameschessell. "Not a lot, " says @adele_ferguson Audience sighs. @jameschessell #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank Many of these products were sold to vulnerable people. Lobbyists lobby. So when there's a parliamentary inquiry the recommendations never see the light of day or are watered down, says @adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank If you are going to a financial advisor for advice, it's akin to going to a doctor. That person should be a trusted expert, says @adele_ferguson to @jameschessell #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @SenatorWacka called @adele_ferguson and told her about @jmwhistleblower. Jeff had gone to the regulator 16 months earlier and no-one was listening to him. When Adele saw the documents, she was shocked. #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank From the day it was published, it went off. Emails. Calls. Story after story. @adele_ferguson to @jameschessell #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank How do you work with people who are putting everything on the line @jameschessell asks @adele_ferguson. #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank Every whistleblower is different. @JMwhistleblower was very hurt by events but could be public. Some had to be anonymous, especially the bloke from IOOF who was young. What happened to him was horrific.

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank His bosses smeared him. Said truly terrible things about him to Adele. None of that stood up. @adele_ferguson to @jameschessell #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank Oh my god. Adele is saying that one of the victims of @comminsure was smeared as a insurance fraud. She says the person who smeared the victim still works there. @adele_ferguson to @jameschessell #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure She talks about the way the Commonwealth Bank applied commercial pressure. Removing ads at a time when journalists had just been made redundant. @adele_ferguson to @jameschessell #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure In the US, there's a whistleblower celebration day!

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure Adele says she was at home when she got the call from @SenatorWacka that there was going to be a royal commission. "I just felt really happy. People have wanted a royal commission for so long. I was jubilant." @adele_ferguson to @jameschessell #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure Then she saw the terms of reference and the budget. @adele_ferguson to @jameschessell #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure But despite all those shortcomings, there were plenty of hits. AMP. Comminsure. So much vindication. @adele_ferguson to @jameschessell #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure Twitter went crazy when Ken Henry was speaking. Too arrogant and out of touch.

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure Throughout all of this @westpac had escaped much of the scandal. They sailed through the royal commission. Hartzer got off easy even though he was arrogant in parts. @adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac There were 10,000 submissions. Only 27 got to speak to their submissions. @adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac @adele_ferguson is now telling this terrible story. What Comminsure did to this man was unconscionable. smh.com.au/money/insuranc… #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac Delay. Deny. Litigate. That's what Adele say. She says the life insurance stories had the biggest impact on her. And she is so impressed by those who share their stories. #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac The actual running of the Royal Commission/ Hayne nailed it in so many ways. But the actual recommendations, "I felt very let down." He really struck out on compensation schemes. "I think that was a real disappointment."

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac We will have to see whether it translates into anything. "I don't want to be a pessimist. It wasn't long enough. Graeme Samuels said it a few weeks ago, it's business as usual." #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac A whistleblower rang her as she wrote the book. Recommended she take a good long look at the Big Four Audit firms. Auditing is a loss leader. They do it because of the way it leads to consulting. "Have a look at the conflicts." @adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac Question to Adele: what would a dream royal commission look like? More institutions on the stand. And the big four auditing firms should have been there.
@adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac Question: what is the role of the media and why are regulators hopeless? @adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac One of the easy things is that regulators need to be better funded and have stronger penalties. @adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac The regulators were too timid, says @adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac Question: what is the essential cultural issue? Adele says Australia did get a royal commission. That's a positive. @adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac Needs to be more naming and shaming, says @adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks Criminal prosecutions need to be higher up the chain.

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac Question: has the ALP ever had a decent critique of neoliberalism (whoa, this is a big question for a book q and a) @adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac Haha. @jameschessell says we can thank @samdastyari for holding the banks to account. @adele_ferguson thanks him in the book #breakingbad @Gleebooks

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac @samdastyari Audience says the victims and the whistleblowers should have got some of the money. $6.2 billion should have been shared.

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac @samdastyari And @jameschessell says that it's clear that many of these final questions have no answer so there is still work to do. Thanks the "bloody minded" @adele_ferguson #breakingbad @Gleebooks

The only thing I would add, speaking to audience members afterwards, is that there are many people angry at what they see is the role of the media in boosting shonks.

@adele_ferguson @jameschessell @Gleebooks @jmwhistleblower @AdeleFerguson @SenatorWacka @CommBank @CommInsure @Westpac oh god. I've put an extra s in Graeme's last name. Kill me