The time has come for the Turnbull Government to respond to the growing chorus of calls for the banking royal commission to be given more time and more resources in light of the litany of scandals, improprieties, blatant acts of theft and conflicts of interests it has managed to uncover in just over six months.
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When the government grudgingly agreed to establish the commission late in 2017 it acceded to pressure from the banks to get the matter over and done with as quickly as possible by capping the term at one year.
Commissioner Kenneth Hayne is due to hand down his interim report next month. He will then have until February 2019 to bring matters to a close.
The sex abuse Royal Commission ran for five years and that the trade union Royal Commission staggered on for almost two years. It would be unremarkable, considering all that has already been unearthed, to allow the probe into banking more time to continue its work.
Every time Justice Hayne, and his able counsels assisting, have turned over a rock they have unearthed far more abuses, examples of poor culture and a willingness to play fast and loose with other people's money than anybody ever expected.
Even the Coalition, which is committed to substantial tax cuts for big business, has had to admit it erred in resisting the push for the commission so hard and for so long.
We have, in recent months, seen calls for the commission to be given all the time and the resources it needs by the former chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Allan Fels, members of the Federal Opposition, and representatives of the rural sector and National Party MPs.
An unintended, and unfortunate, consequence of Fraser Anning's bizarre maiden speech on Tuesday was that it drew attention away from his success in getting the Senate to pass a motion calling for the government to extend the commission's time frame and powers on the same day.
More than 100 farmers and other finance sector victims had travelled to Canberra at the behest of Katter's Australian Party. When asked if they had experienced depression and suicidal thoughts one in two raised their hands.
The good news is key members within the government, including the Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann, have already said they would not be opposed to extending next February's deadline if it was required.
"We will not protect anyone. Justice Hayne is doing an outstanding job and we will take our advice from him," Senator Cormann said in April. "We've indicated from the outset we believe the time allocated is appropriate but if the royal commissioner were to come to the government and say `I need more time' you can safely assume the government would accept that request".
While there is little doubt such a request will likely be made in the near future, there is nothing stopping the Turnbull Government from acting of its own accord.
All the Prime Minister has to do is to admit the original time estimate was way off base and pledge the royal commission will be given all the time and resources it needs.
