See CBA whistle-blower Jeff Morris comment on Page 19 of March 13, 2015 issue of Sydney Morning Herald.
“NAB’s parrot is dead. Expired. It is an ex-parrot. NAB’s denial of systemic problems in its financial planning division at the Senate hearing last week reminded me of Monty Python’s dead parrot sketch.
For those not familiar with the brilliance of Python, a man goes back to a pet store to complain about a parrot he bought that, upon closer inspection, turns out to have been stuffed and nailed to its perch.
‘‘It’s not dead!’’ NAB shrieked repeatedly. Trust me fellas, it’s dead. You may not be able to find systemic problems in your financial planning division but I’ll bet you I could if you’d let me look through the files.
For a start I’d be looking with a very sceptical eye at the 431 files of Graeme Cowper you say you reviewed, since you’ve finally admitted he ‘‘resigned whilst under suspension’’ for ‘‘file reconstruction’’.
That’s one dead parrot. Memo to NAB: when you move someone on for ‘‘file reconstruction’’ you can’t really rely on his files. You need to talk to clients to find out what can be verified – and what can’t.
Talk to the clients? That’s two dead parrots! How can the clients help you to discover systemic problems when you are not honest with them about the circumstances of his departure from NAB? It suited both you and Graeme Cowper to be able to say that he resigned from NAB and there is a confidentiality agreement floating around to prove it.
A dead parrot just flew past my window! We know you tried really hard to find victims of Graeme Cowper to compensate when you reviewed the doctored files but were able to find only 53 out of 431 who were worthy, but unfortunately some of these victims are starting to come forward. I am now aware of nine, all of whom suffered severe losses through excessive gearing and only four of whom received partial compensation after lengthy battles. The other five received nothing. Some gave up their complaints after being endlessly stonewalled by NAB. None were ever advised by NAB of the problems with the advice they received.
The other dead parrot in the room is the fact that only now, after the whistle has been well and truly blown, has NAB apparently acquired a whole new attitude towards transparency with ASIC and reviewing customer compensation. Your words are positively evangelical to hear you speak now.
But as Churchill said, it is ‘‘deeds not words’’ that count and you will not divulge the names of the rogue planners so that their victims know to come forward and you will not commit to an independent compensation review. This has the stench of a dead parrot all over it.
You have an ‘‘Independent Customer Advocate’’ selected and remunerated by yourselves? Bully for you but I think most people would think ‘‘independent’’ means they can choose their own advocate to represent them. This parrot is no more.
You are also responsible for putting a dead parrot in the AMP hen house by not providing an honest reference for Graeme Cowper. You should be compensating any victims who come to light there as well.”