ASIC: a whimpering watchdog

Independent economist, John Adams has chronicled the marked decline in the investigative functions of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) outlining his case for its abolition. Speaking at the recent Australian Citizens Party (ACP) national conference, he supported this with a mountain of evidence, including the chairman attempting to water down the terms of reference of a parliamentary inquiry, inaction over a Ponzi scheme, a damning assessment from the past ASIC chair, and ASIC’s use of AI to dismiss complaints in 38 seconds.

Adams made a salient point in support of the abolition of ASIC due to the apparent conflict of its remit to register (i.e., facilitate) corporate structures and investigate alleged wrongdoing. The parliament shone a light on ASIC with the establishment of the Senate Economics Committee inquiry on the investigation and enforcement capabilities of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

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