Today, Scott Morrison owes the nation an apology for standing in the way of the Banking Royal Commission.

Twenty-six times he voted against it.

For 600 days the Liberals failed to act at the same time as they were fighting to give the banks a $17 billion tax handout.

The release today of the Interim Report of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in Financial Services has highlighted shocking misconduct across the sector and how disturbing it is that Morrison fought to protect the banks for so long.

The interim report asked the question about why the banking scandals happened and provided this stark and concerning response:

Too often, the answer seems to be greed the pursuit of short term profit at the expense of basic standards of honesty.

And in a major criticism of the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government and a lack of financial regulator action:

When misconduct was revealed, it either went unpunished or the consequences did not meet the seriousness of what had been done.

Labor will now study the Royal Commissions interim report and findings closely.

The Liberals have never taken this seriously they were dragged kicking and screaming on this Royal Commission and gave it an unreasonably short timeframe. They cant be trusted to properly act on these findings.

Today Labor is announcing we will crack down on the sickening rorts and rip offs that have been exposed through the Royal Commission.

If elected, a Shorten Labor Government will establish a Financial Services Royal Commission Implementation Taskforce, to reform the culture of profit over people in the financial services sector.

The Taskforce will be located within the Treasury and work closely with the Attorney-Generals Department, and will oversee implementation of the reforms recommended by the Royal Commission to ensure that they are delivered swiftly and effectively.

The Taskforce will consult with victims and victim groups in recognition that they are the lived experience of the systemic misconduct in the banking sector.

Under a Shorten Labor Government, Chris Bowen as Treasurer will report to the Parliament every six months on progress in implementation, until the recommendations are fully implemented.

The Liberals did everything they could possibly do to keep this misconduct hidden. For 600 days, they blocked a Royal Commission. The Prime Minister Scott Morrison voted against a Royal Commission 26 times, calling it a reckless distraction and a QCs complaints desk.

Nobody can trust the Liberals to clean up this appalling misconduct. They always have been, and always will be, on the side of the big banks.

Labor will fight for ordinary Australians, and we are absolutely committed to cracking down on corporate crooks and misconduct in our financial services sector.

Labor called for this Royal Commission, Labor fought for this Royal Commission, Labor will establish a Financial Services Royal Commission Implementation Taskforce, and Labor will work day and night to protect Australian businesses and consumers from this appalling misconduct.