Australia politics live: Labor makes move to crack down on consultants after latest scandal

Federal government releases options paper to improve regulation of accounting, auditing and consulting firms. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast. The federal government has released an options paper to improve the regulation of accounting, auditing and consulting firms in Australia, the latest move in the wake of the KPMG scandal, in which partners leaked client information and mishandled the whistleblower who raised the alarm.KPMG staff leaked confidential Lendlease and Optus information to colleagues who were applying for lucrative audit contracts at Westpac, Dexus and Telstra. At least three partners were involved.In recent years, we have seen behaviour from some large accounting, auditing and consulting firms in Australia that is not fair and honest.This has undermined trust in the firms themselves and raised broader questions about the resilience of the frameworks meant to uphold market integrity.If you’re in that position, hearing that the government is waiting for Deloitte to finish a report before they can increase the childcare subsidy, doesn’t hold up. Families can’t budget around a maybe. I’ve written to the minister, and I want the government to commit to a national commission with a firm timeline – not keep it on the “considering” pile. Continue reading...