What happened to Westpoint investors, and countless investors in other companies, will continue to happen whilever the Australian regulators fail to hunt out and agressivey prosecute those who rape, pillage and plunder the Australian Marketplace.
The Westpoint story is illustrative of how easily disaster can overtake an investor through no fault of their own.
To attribute all of the recent financial market meltdown in Australia to the foreign sub-prime crisis is erroneous.
The lack of immediate strict enforcement of the current laws, and the stream of false data replacing the true situation ensures investors cannot make informed decisions.
Although this website is primarily aimed at recording Westpoint events, it contains material pertaining to other companies that highlight the failure of our regulatory system.
A word of caution.
In a world of spin and conspiracy, it is all too easy to be carried away - particularly when an overseeing authority fails to carry out its designated tasks and smashes one's life. In such a circumctance. the making of wild unsubstantiated allegations is a pointless exercise. Please examine the claims made on this website, backed with material freely aailable in the public domain, and make up your own mind as to their veracity.
Key points to keep in mind as you peruse the material on this site follow.
- I make no apology for the dryness of the material. If you wish to protect your own material wealth, there is no short cut to having the necessary information.
- The Howard led Coalition Government gave investor protection as one of the major reasons for the need of a new financial regulator. They created the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, which became operational in 1999.
- Since its inception, ASIC has enjoyed well-earned continuous press criticism for its lack of timely action - or more often, total lack of action. Its unwillingness to perform it assigned duties is legendary. The collapses of companies such as HIH, One-Tel, Westpoint, Fincorp, ACR, Opes, Allco, Storm, Timbercorp, and Great Southern, have all added negatively to ASIC's reputation. Neil Prior, one time editor of the West Australian, summed it up best when he spoke of ASIC's "reign of error.” ASIC has been a major agent of investor destruction rather than a protector of investors.
- Before coming to power, the Rudd led opposition was most concerned about the state of the Australian marketplace. The letter from Senator Sherry to myself mentions a “perfect storm” in relation to the series of collapses just prior to the date of the letter, and promises the Rudd Government would hold an open inquiry. Labor did come to power, and are still waiting for that to happen.
- Although the Australian economy has suffered (and will suffer further) because of the world financial collapse, it would be in a far better position had we possessed a reasonably efficient regulator.
- Despite the wealth of information in the public domain concerning ASIC's non-performance, we are yet to see any concrete improvement, or those responsible for the current parlous state brought to account.
- Crikey of 12/05/2008 reports the head of ASIC, Tony D'Aloisio saying: "it wouldn't have happened if I had been here" This is a clear admission of regulatory failure within ASIC before his appointment. However, he has never made any attempt to say what these problems were, or whether he has fixed them. ASIC is an independent body reporting to Parliament. Its independence does not mean it is not accountable to the Australian public. Nor does ASIC have any legal right to void transparency of its past actions.
- The document 2008_02_12_MacAulay_D'Aloisio contains a a number of awkward questions for ASIC. The questions it poses must be difficult as ASIC has never answered it. This is a standard technique the regulator employs when asked questions that might cause it embarrassment.
- ASIC has never answered the questions asked in MacAulay_McNally exchanges from 04_01_2009_to 17_02_2009. If you doubt me, I suggest you contact ASIC and ask for a copy of the documents answering the questions.
- The collapse of Storm publicised one matter that had been a problem for some time: the behavior of the banks in respect of loans for speculative financial gambles. The risks may have been hidden from investors, but they were known to the banks. I expect to hear a lot more about this in the future.
- Then there is the evidence at a Senate inquiry pertaining to liquidators choosing to liquidate companies when they might well hae been saved because it was more profitable for them to do this.
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I ask the reader to examine ASIC’s record in major court cases, and to find a good reason why only a miniscule number of wrongdoers have been successfully prosecuted.
To Ignore the lack of regulation may affect not only your lifestyle, but also the future emotional and financial welfare of your children and grandchildren. We all have a clear duty to leave them with a fair, and accountable, financial system.
AUSTRALIA URGENTLY NEEDS A ROYAL COMMISSION, WITH THE WIDEST POSSIBLE POWERS, INTO THE FINANCIAL MARKETPLACE
The marketplace is not the only instance of bureaucracies over-running the little people. The NSW Government provides countless examples, and then there is the case of a council resuming land for no other reason than they can on sell it to a developer at a profit. Even worse, they can do this legally!
Democracy and accountability are priceless possessions. We cannot let it wither and die. I am not asking you to become an advocate tilting at every anomaly. I am asking you raise your voice whenever an anomaly appears that may have immediate effect on you. If you don't, the likelihood of you or your children becoming a victim is greatly increased.
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