The HIH Royal Commission has had its deadline for handing over its findings to the Federal Government extended from February 28 to April 4.

The extension was granted to account for a large number of rebuttal submissions made by key players in the drama after they had been savaged by the counsels assisting Royal Commissioner Neville Owen.

The royal commission’s timing began to go awry last year when the royal commissioner agreed to delay his assisting counsels’ submissions until after Christmas to close the gap on submissions and rebuttals.

There’s a lot to contemplate. The 4236-page closing submissions made by counsel assisting Wayne Martin QC, listed 1000 alleged breaches of the law committed by directors, managers, professional advisers and regulators involved in the HIH case.

Most under fire are former HIH CEO Ray Williams and former MD Rodney Adler, who could face criminal charges for alleged breaches of the Corporations Law. 

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is also under attack for failing to perform its duties. The Federal Opposition has insisted that in light of the submission from counsel assisting, APRA’s board should resign or be sacked. The regulator has accused counsel of being “grossly unbalanced” in its closing submissions.

Despite all the allegations flying around, Commissioner Owen made it clear that his report will not be based on the closing submission. “What counsel assisting have written, or may say, is not the report,” he said. “It is not a preview of the report. It does not foreshadow what I will say in the report.”