One of the things I find depressing is that,AMP had built a fine reputation as a mutual, which was trashed once it became demutualised.

The same can be said for the Commonwealth Bank, which was set up as a people’s bank - a foil to the private banks at the time. It was privatised in the 80s, and very quickly began disappointing rather than protecting the people.

The same can be said about many fine mutuals and government enterprises that were demutualised or privatised in the madness that was “rational economics” in the 80s.

What can we do?

We need to learn from the mistakes of the past, and build a new future which is fairer and much less likely to lead to corruption.

The lessons are:

Competition does not necessarily lead to the best results.

Private enterprises have priorities which are often in conflict with social needs.

Government has an important role to play as the powerful representative of the people it serves.

The government is the servant of the people, not the handmaiden to powerful business.

Perhaps it is time to look at mutuals again, not just in finance and insurance, but also in other areas, such as food – remember the co-op societies that farmers used to pool their resources to get the price prices for their farm supplies – and work?

Instead of being employed, workers unite and cooperate to build their own businesses where profits are shared.

These are not new ideas, and they have worked in the past, and may be the beacon to a fairer and more equitable future.