Storm Financial is reported in the Sydney Morning Herald today as representing wholesale fraud against investors,the public, and lots of small mums and dads who put their life savings into that institution. Could it now be time to roll back the essential erosion of the machinery of justice, that allowed this to happen. Was it the duty of the Commonwealth to regulate these things,and if it was negligent in doing so, shouldn't it be held responsible, and at least in some way made accountable. Can this happen while the legal system is dominated by lawyers? It is essentially a legal problem, with forged mortgages, dodgy loans, deception and downright dishonesty. Is ASIC effective at all?

The report in the Sydney Morning Herald is only the tip of a large iceberg. I have had very distressed people come to see me, and it turned out that they had never signed a mortgage,but nearly a million dollars had appeared in their bank account. This had paid out a previous mortgage, which also looked dodgy.

The first thing they knew about something being wrong, was when a repossession agent came looking for a bulldozer, excavator and rock crusher, bought on finance, in the name of a company they owned. The signatures on their loan application had been electronically copied, and affixed to two years tax returns, the Bank was told they were making a profit of $400,000 a year. Tax Department letters were forged, the signatures on the Tax Returns were electronically generated, the signature on the Mortgage was electronically generated. The Bulldozer, Excavator and rock crusher, were eventually located, and had four separate loan contracts on them from four separate lenders of $1.2 million dollars each.

I think it is time that lawyers lost their monopoly on legal work, and total honesty and integrity was restored to Australia's legal system, and legislation making everyone a law enforcement officer, was accepted by all courts everywhere. There is no need for any new laws, just enforcement of the ones we have. Are there any more horror stories out there?

Totally agee Peter,but the legal disease also infects our Govts.It is time for ordinary folk to rise up and be counted.

When we have too many parasites feeding off the host,eventually the host dies and so do the parasites.

people need to know that legal copies of documents carry no weight[unless they are the origonal, but because people are kept ignorant,they get conned by the lawyers

self representation is what people must be doing[by knowing a few thgings it isnt that hard[if the oppisition makes a submission[it must be corrected, because suprise suprise lawyers lie

[if only by ommision..[its worth knowing that without the origonal document..there is no case..[but if your not questioning their legality the lawyers win by default]...lawyer put in submissions before the court that stand as legal[if you dont rebut them]

its often NOT knowing simple things..that strip ignorant imbisiles[the great unwashed]..of their assets and estates..silence signifies concent

[meaning failure to correct the error means under law ..it is REGARDED as true[because ..they reason,if wrong..you would correct that in error...

clearly a photcopy is a lie..but only if you point it out,in court

It seems to me that this thread is 'off toppic' already. Is it not about 'Storm Financial'!

As for SF, it is to early to know what has happened and most of what is being said is just 'hear say'.

I happen to know quite a few former investors and I have flollowed them for several years.

I can tell you that not one of them was complaining when they were making double digit anual returns on investments then all of a sudden they hate the founders of SF.

Everyone forgets the one simple rule when investing; 'don't have all your eggs in one basket'.

Now how anyone can be so nieve to think they can borrow upwards of
1 Millon dollars, on a pension, defied logic. "But it's ok, the adviser says so"

While it is about SF, it is also about how to prevent it happening again. I believe it is the responsibility of Our Big Brother, the government to protect his little sisters and brothers from predators. If the Minder allows predators to come into the system and prey upon the members of the Commonwealth, then my thinking is the buck stops with Big Brother.

This was sloppy Howard Government regulation, and about selling favors to big contributors to the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party sponsored legislation, starting in 1953, to allow total laissez faire capitalism in Australia by firstly nobbling the High Court. Then they gave their lawyer mates a monopoly on representation in Federal Courts in 1978. Then when they created the Federal Court they gave all power to a Judge. This is sloppy unconstitutional government.

In 1986, the Labor Party enacted the Legislation to end this sloppy conduct. They enacted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as Schedule 2 to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986. Properly applied this would have prevented this Storm. In 2001, in the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act 2001 they legislated that the conduct of Storm, could be regulated by a proceeding in a court. By section 12 HC the conduct of any financial institution in breach of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act 2001 which this was, could be prosecuted in the Federal Court. Ha de haa de haa. Not without the consent of the minister it could not. 12 HC (3) says Must not be instituted without the consent of the Minister, or a person authorized by the Minister to give such consents.

This gave the Minister a stick to extract donations for the Liberal Party, from any Big Corporation, that offended the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act 2001. A great rort don’t you think. Of course that is contrary to the enactment of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but now you know why they are in denial. It is time KR faced the fact he is not a Liberal

It is my understanding that ASIC have audited the practices of SF and that they have found no wrong doing as far as complying with ASIC's requirements.

Furthermore, it is my understanding that financial planners have been hit with many new laws and regulations over the past decade or so, so I am not sure what you are trying to point out other than you didn't like the howard government.

The Keating Government was getting ready to totally reform and restore the system of government we used to have in Australia before the Liberal Party decided we could go one better. It amended the Trade Practices Act 1974 with the Competition Policy Reform Act 1995, and extended its provisions to both Local Government and State businesses, but the Liberals suppressed it by the simple expedient of failing to allocate resources to it, and limiting the application of regulations, to whatever the minister in charge said the regulations applied to.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was just one of the acts enacted by Labor that was never applied, and there are a whole raft of others. The Evidence Act 1995, (Cth) declares that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is to be used to exclude improperly obtained evidence, in S 138 (3) (f), The Criminal Code Act 1995 ( Cth) declares the Covenent means the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that was actually not proclaimed as a Schedule until 20th October 2001, but has never been enforced.

What I am saying is that the Government, by reference to s 56, of the Judiciary Act 1903, has made itself since 1903, liable in Tort, for any wrong that its actions have brought about. However to avoid having to answer to the courts, the Liberals in 2006, inserted a S31A which gave the Federal Court power with one Judge, to make a summary judgment, effectively turning the court into what was commonly known as a Star Chamber, or Capital C Court, with power to grant favors to the ruling government.

The great bulwark against arbitrary power, established in England in 1297, was the democtratic institution comprised of 12 electors, drawn from those who could vote. The Habeas Corpus Act 1640 16 Charles 1 Ch X reinforced that safeguard, and the Covenant does also. In fact summary judgments brought down without a jury trial were declared void, in 1640, and were likewise void, until 1966, when the Liberals introduced them in Bankruptcy matters

The Rudd Government has to bite the bullet and either accept that the last Labor Government reformed the system of government in Australia, and the Liberal Party was the counter revolution, that stopped the reform process in its tracks, or continue as a Liberal Government in fact if not name. When Australia nearly went broke after the last recession, the Keating government put in place reforms that should have stopped the worst excesses of the big lenders, the likes of SF, and the plethora of mini lenders, who took advantage of the loose lending practices enacted in the United States.

It may be that the Liberals just lost power in time, because this Storm was on its way, even as they were defeated. It was going to overwhelm whatever government was in power. Its effects are still working their way through the system. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights effectively abolishes the independence of the States. If the Rudd Government will accept it is in fact law. S 58 Judiciary Act 1903 allows suits against a State in federal jurisdiction. The fiction that we can be members of two States simultaneously, is maintained by the abolition of jury trials as of right.

When I wore a khaki uniform, way back, before Vietnam, Australia was still one country. It had universal jury trial in all matters, and we were members of a Commonwealth. In 1966, in a follow up of the destruction of the High Court in 1953, after Menzies cracked a hissy fit against them, because they refused to let him ban the Communist Party, the Liberals destroyed the Bankruptcy court as a check on excesses by corporations. Huge numbers of people with good viable businesses were asset stripped, by the big bankers, manipulating the Courts. It is still going on today.

KR is a church attending Christian. He has a good scattering of lawyers in his government. Lawyers are intrinsically dishonest, as I found when studying law, at three different tertiary institutions. The dean of one said the law is all about money and power

As a movie I enjoyed the Perfect Storm. It was saddening to see such courageous men perish, but we all go sooner or later. There used to be a saying it is an ill wind that blows nobody some good. This perfect financial storm, has the potential to blow an enormous amount of good into Australia as a Commonwealth, and unite us as never before.

Because KR is a Christian, we have a chance. For 669 years, from 1297 until 1966, both England and Australia were ruled by the principles of the New Testament. The prophesy made in Isaiah 9 verse 6, that the government would be on His shoulders, was enacted as law. The King James Version Bible I have has a black star against the passages that were adopted as prophetic, by the rebel English, starting with Genesis 49 verse 10. That was where Jacob, the heel grabber, whose name was changed to Israel, man of God, vested power in his son Judah. The scepter ( of power) shall not depart from Judah, until Shiloh come. The English understood this to mean that power was vested in Jesus Christ and his teachings were adopted by them.

If you are in Sydney, in the old Courthouses, there is a Royal Seal, set behind the throne, where the presiding Justice used to sit, and on top of the Royal Seal, is the Lion of Judah. It also sits sculpted in stone, in the front of the old Post Office at Central, on the Court of Petty Sessions, and the King Street Courts in the city.

The words Commonwealth of Israel, appear in Ephesians 2 verse 12, and we did not adopt the word Commonwealth by chance. Israel means man of God, so the Commonwealth was a federation of men of God. Until 1953, any man of god, could freely worship, in the Federal Supreme Court. ( s 71 Constitution). Gradually the lawyers have decided they were the new Men of God, and they knew better that the combined wisdom of 669 years. Federal Labor gave us back our religious freedom

the other storm raging

Federal-Reserve..boss..Ben Bernanke..needs to..“borrow up to $3.25 trillion in the fiscal/year ending Sept.30..[″ (Bloomberg)..without triggering a run on the dollar.

But,..how?..If the stock market keeps surging,investors will turn their backs on low-yielding US Treasuries and move into riskier securities hoping for better returns...The only way to attract more buyers to US/debt..is by raising interest-rates..which will kill the“green shoots”..of recovery..and make it harder for people to buy homes and cars...It’s a conundrum.

In the next year,..China will buy roughly $200 billion T-Bills while the oil-producing states and the rest of the world will add about $300 billion to their cache...That leaves more than $2 trillion for the domestic market..where cash-strapped investors are likely to avoid government debt/like the plague.

So,who’s going buy that mountain of low-yield government paper?

The banks....The Fed has been helping the banks raise reserves for the last year...In fact,excess bank/reserves have skyrocketed from $96.5 billion..in August 2008 to $949.6 billion..by April 2009.

Nearly a trillion bucks..in less than a year...But,..why?..Are the banks expecting to expand lending at the fastest rate in history in the middle of a depression?

Of course not...Master/illusionist..Bernanke is just arranging the props for his next big trick.

The fact is,..Bernanke anticipated the current wave of deflation and set up a straw man..(the banks)..to deal with it so it wouldn’t look like..he was simply printing more paper..to finance the deficits.

As soon as rates..[on 10 year notes..hit 4 per cent,..the banks..(that are borrowing money at 0 per cent)..will probably..start to purchase Treasuries and keep the housing and retail markets from crashing even faster....It’s called.“the old switcheroo”..and no one does it better than the Fed.

Bernanke pulled a similar stunt after Lehman Bros flopped..and he and Paulson decided that it was time to dump $700 billion worth of garbage assets on the public...The Fed chief and Treasury figured out the only way they could hoodwink congress was to foment a crisis in the credit markets..and then moan that if they didn’t get $700 billion to buy up toxic assets in the next 48 hours..“there wouldn’t be an economy by Monday”.

continued
http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney06122009.html