Good morning, Australia’s corporate regulator needs a US-style “law enforcement” approach, says Senator Andrew Bragg , the architect of the latest inquiry into the country’s business investigation agency who believes its current model is unworkable. His 206-page-review of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has been backed by a coterie of former regulators and corporate figure. They warn that ASIC’s mandate is too broad and the agency inadequately funded, and urge consideration of a break-up Meanwhile, the nation’s most influential corporate governance adviser, Ownership Matters boss Dean Paatsch, says Super Retail Group chair Sally Pitkin must answer allegations of serious governance failures at the retailer, including that its former head of Human Resources was hired to advise the board on picking the next chair despite her allegedly being in a relationship with the CEO. And as the market prepares for a deluge of blue-chip corporate earnings results this week, strategists have indicated greater resilience in Australian household spending than previously assumed. |