A powerful Senate committee that has been examining the impact of the financial crisis on banking could accept late submissions on the collapse of Tasmanian timber group Gunns according to The Australian newspaper. Source: The Australian
Nationals senator John Williams, who successfully moved in March that the Senate economics references committee inquire into post-GFC banking, said yesterday that he would propose this week that the committee considers issues surrounding managed investment schemes run by Gunns.
Up to 49,000 investors, also known as growers, are believed to have about $1.6 billion at risk in the schemes. Many signed personal guarantees.
A Gunns subsidiary, Gunns Plantations, has responsibility for 21 schemes, including nine previously managed by Great Southern Plantations.
The scheduled reporting date of the committee is at the end of this month.
Williams said he would argue that the committee should receive a late submission from Geoff Shannon’s Unhappy Banking group, which appeared before the committee’s post-GFC banking inquiry.
Mr Shannon indicated his interest in Gunns yesterday, seeking proxies ahead of the first Gunns creditors’ meeting on Wednesday.
He said Gunns investors would lose any hope of recovering $1.6bn if they were not recognised as bona fide creditors in the early stage of the administration.
“We urge all Gunns investors to contact us immediately for coordination of proxy votes that will be initiated over the coming weeks,” Mr Shannon said.
Unhappy Banking, he said, would assist investors with a view to proceeding to a class action.
The administrator, PPB Advisory, has said that it is not yet possible to determine if scheme investors will ultimately be treated as creditors.
The firm would therefore treat scheme investors as contingent creditors for the purposes of the first meeting.
