Category: Social Trends

The Cracks In The Machine…

The RBA released their Financial Stability Report today and provided a worrying insight into household finances. Rate rises and large mortgages are having an impact, plus pressure on builders is rising. We look at some of their analysis. Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

Final Chance To Protect Branch Banking

In just a few hours the petition to get Parliament to consider the deep issues around the removal of branch banks – and cash access will expire.

Thanks to our followers who have made the effort to sign it. We saw a big spike in recent days.

If you have not yet make your voice heard, you still have a few hours.

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN4244

Access to cash, and branch banking should be a civil right, safeguarded by Parliament. Its essential for a vibrant society and for business growth in Australia.

More Government Dirty Tricks In Support Of The Big Banks!

In the ultimate dodgy trick, the final report in to the Taskforce into Regional Banking was snuck out at 4.52pm on Friday evening by the Albanese Government despite the report being a Coalition document overseen by two shadow ministers (Michael Sukkar and Perin Davey) whose current portfolios have nothing to do with treasury, finance, business or regional Australia.

As predicted by The Regional when this taskforce was set up, the final report contains nothing that will save a single bank, with the executive summary’s admission that it received more than 400 submissions “on ways of maintaining and improving banking services” illustrating that the entire exercise was, as the Financial Sector Union described it in 2021, just a “cruel stunt”.

https://www.theregional.com.au/post/regional-banking-taskforce-s-botch-job-is-no-laughing-matter

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN4244

Regional Australia is down to just 1011 major banks – a figure the taskforce was in possession of, or close to it, but chose not to reveal in preference to a much broader and rosier number provided by APRA, possibly due to an undeclared conflict of interest by Senator Davey.

A new inquiry would hopefully give regional Australians a fair go at saving their last banks and even, hopefully, getting some new ones.

The petition – EN4244 – closes on Wednesday night (October 6, 12.59am) (Sydney).

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

Hot Spending Says 50 bp In October!

More reasons to argue for a 50-basis point rate hike in October, as the latest provisional retail figures came in pretty strong. Much of this is explained by the inflated prices we are paying for things, but despite very low consumer confidence households continue to spend (even if via credit).

So far higher rates are not slowing the pace, hence another jumbo-sized hike is warranted.

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

The Banks Are The Aggressors In The War On Cash!

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

The Regional is an independent news service for 37 per cent of Australia’s population (and growing)!

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.

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

Operation Antispruik Around Launceston (TAS)

Another outing, thanks to Cookie, looking at recent property price reductions, and cross correlating these with data from my core market models. It is clear that property prices are on the turn in the last hold-out state now, and we know that mortgage stress is higher in the Northern half of the Apple Isle.

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/