PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA
Hon. Scott Morrison MP
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
P O Box 6500
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Mr. Morrison
I am writing to you as I have no responses to my letters posted to Mr. Shipton and Mr. Frydenberg. I have attached those letters FYI and for the transparency. By the way, Australia Post Express takes only 7 days for a letter delivery between states. I get my vitamins shipped from US within 5 days!
Most likely you are aware of Sterling First Group fiasco by now. Fiasco that left hundreds of people, mainly older people, stripped of their homes and life savings. All under ASIC’s nose.
I can’t express my disappointment in ASIC’s negligence in any words. It is beyond me how “a watchdog” cannot act on the information it has, and completely forgo “duty of care”.
ASIC, I always thought, was fully funded by taxpayer’s money to protect taxpayers from scams, unlawful business and to act for consumer protection. How wrong I was! ASIC makes money for government. Last financial year a nice $1.2billion. So, we pay taxes to fund ASIC ($450mln/year) and ASIC is a cash cow for government and brings almost 3 times that. How brilliant!
So not only we pay to be protected, but also pay once again in fees if want to check for bankruptcies, companies collapse etc (over $50mln for search fees/year), if we want to be more diligent and save ASIC’s work and problems down the track. For all this information that supposed to be public, we are charged extra fees (it is free in NZ and UK). And these fees are one the highest in the world. It does not make sense to me.
What is the purpose of ASIC then? No one seem to have an answer. Officially we are told that government funds ASIC, but what a misconception! Another revenue making body under the veil of public funding.
So, now I am over $500,000 down with a mortgage on my house, that was robbed from me in a daylight and with ASIC’s permission, and I am paying interest on my robbed money.
And now, I have to also pay to find out about Sterling First directors past. It seems that this set of rules would be possible only in 3rd world country, but not in Australia. Wrong again!
The more I research, the more devastating facts I learn. Excuse follows excuse, each person sheds all responsibilities to another person or to another body. Merry-go-around.
Liquidators (KPMG) when I spoke to a director, seem to be protective of the company they liquidate, not to us- the creditors. Maybe because KPMG was sending gifts to ASIC, and these were accepted as per books. Nothing is for free in this country and gifts are given in exchange for something. Isn’t it a conflict of interest and isn’t it illegal?
KPMG response to why Sterling First Group collapsed is bad economic times, a downturn in real estate. But this is not that SF strength was as listed in their Information Memorandum:
• Insulated from cyclical economic and equity market movements
So many questions, and once the answer is found, is utterly disappointing.
You, as Prime Minister of this country, surely have to be aware of all this going on. Isn’t a time to do something to correct it? I am sure you hold high values and will compensate all Sterling First victims for the start.
I ask, on behalf of myself and other victims, that $36mln that was robbed from us is to be refunded within 5 weeks.
I have invested in Australian company that was to provide so needed services to Australian people, a in company that was regulated by ASIC, but at the end, this company proven to be a bunch of crooks, known to ASIC for previous crimes.
It left hundreds of people penniless who will have to rely from now on government pensions, Centrelink support and public health system. Not to mention the heavy toll on mental health.
How much suffering we Australians have to endure and how much we need to sacrifice for white-collar crime to be eliminated or least reduced? How many more failures ASIC need to bring before is accountable and before it stands in front of Royal Commission?
I await your prompt reply.
Yours faithfully,