Dale Webster from The Regional And Robbie Barwick from the Citizens Party discuss the war on cash with me , and specifically the removal of branch and cash infrastructure, especially in regional areas.
https://www.theregional.com.au/post/bank-petition-chance-to-send-a-strong-message-to-canberra
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Dale has been tracking regional bank closures, despite the amount of cash still in use (and rising). Banks are casting a dangerous shadow.
But now there is a Petition EN4244 – Moratorium on regional bank closures and new inquiry in front of Parliament, and we have about 10 days to send a formal message to the Australian Parliament Petition. It closes on 6th October 2022.
https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN4244
Petition Reason
Private research shows regional Australia has lost 62 per cent of its banks since 1975, leaving just 1062 located mainly in clusters in larger centres. The number of towns and cities with a bank has shrunk from 1226 to 386: 575 towns that once had one or more major banks now have no form of bank at all. Another 146 towns are on the brink of complete loss of banking services, with just one major bank open. Last year, regional Australia lost 113 “big four” bank branches. Locations included 45 towns that were stripped of their last/only bank. Of these, 23 did not have a minor corporate, mutual or franchise bank to fall back on. If a similar 10 per cent cut to the branch network is made this year, 100 more branches will be lost in the next seven months: 50 towns will lose their last bank. This issue has not been looked at properly for 17 years. The Morrison Government set up a “taskforce into regional banking” as a pre-election stunt but only put representatives of the banking industry and its own politicians on it. Just one public meeting was held. Findings have not yet been delivered.
Petition Request
We therefore ask the House to impose an immediate moratorium on regional bank closures, launch a new inquiry to pick up from where Money too Far Away (1999) and Money Matters in the Bush (2004) left matters and pulp any reports that come from the coalition’s taskforce.
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