Today’s announcement that Storm Financial clients who had significant debt to the Commonwealth Bank will be offered compensation is good news, according to The Nationals Senator for New South Wales John Williams.

But Senator Williams, who has worked closely with the Storm Investors Consumer Action Group (SICAG) for the past 12 months, says people’s lives have been changed forever following the collapse of Storm Financial.

He said easing the financial pain is a major gain, but only those who have gone through it can relate to the mental anguish.

“When I first addressed a meeting in Redcliffe in January last year I could see nothing but bewilderment on the faces of those in the packed hall. It was like they had been hit by a financial tsunami and could not come to terms with their situation.

To talk to many of them personally and to hear their evidence during the Senate inquiry was heartbreaking

That night in Redcliffe SICAG was formed and the hard work and tenacity of this organisation kept people’s spirits high and gave them some hope for the future.

I was critical of the CBA in the early days when the bank appeared to be in denial of their obligation, but I commend them for sitting down and working through a compensation package that is now on the table.

Mr. Norris did admit that things could have been handled better in this whole mess.

I call on other banks, particularly the Bank of Queensland, to follow the lead of the CBA and come to a fair settlement with its clients who had been Storm investors”, Senator Williams said.