By Gareth Vaughan & Dan Brunskill
Cameron Brewer, the National Party MP who chairs Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee, says he's aiming for as much consensus as possible among the MPs involved in the Parliamentary Banking Inquiry.
Brewer told interest.co.nz all evidence, reports, and summaries are in now, meaning work begins on putting a report together.
"I'm keen to get as much cross-party consensus as possible, as it is after all a parliamentary inquiry. The committee's report on the Climate Adaptation Inquiry last year was unanimously supported, so I've told my political colleagues, I have high hopes," Brewer said.
"Regardless, we now need to work through nine months of submissions and information, so there's still considerable work to do."
A select committee report typically summarises evidence received by the committee, can provide the committee's view on issues, and make recommendations, potentially including proposed changes. The report may also include dissenting views from committee members, typically from opposition parties. The report informs Parliament and can help shape legislation or other policy decisions.
Brewer replaced fellow National MP Stuart Smith as Chairman of the Finance and Expenditure Committee at the start of the year.
Led by the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee, the inquiry has been held alongside the Primary Production Committee with the terms of reference developed by both.
The inquiry was promised in the National-NZ First coalition agreement after the 2023 election. It follows a Commerce Commission market study into competition in personal banking services launched under the previous Labour government.
One consequence of the inquiry already is the Reserve Bank agreeing to review banks' regulatory capital requirements, which the prudential regulator aims to complete by year's end.
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