Despite cash being legal tender in Australia, surprisingly it is legal for businesses to refuse to accept it provided that they inform consumers of their stance before any “contract” for the supply of goods or services is entered into.
The war on cash has taken an interesting turn, with the RBA being questioned by the Senate Inquiry into Regional Bank Branch closures, and claiming the use of cash had fallen, but frankly on thin and filtered evidence; while Armaguard, Australia’s only cash-in-transit business is facing the prospect of collapsing due to the claimed declining use of cash. The RBA, which regulates the payments industry and is responsible for printing money is also involved in the crisis talks.
And a social media campaign, led by the Cash is King Facebook group is calling on Aussies to withdraw and use cash next Tuesday, April 2, in protest against the shift to digital payments. The protest is aimed at showing Australia’s banks and retailers that there is still a demand for the use of cash in society. That is, if you can still find an ATM.
So, action on Tuesday to grab some cash could be an important step on the road to saving cash for All Australians who want to use it, despite pressure from the Government who is responding to huge pressure from the commercial banks. This in turn puts massive pressure on the current Senate review, who is scheduled to hold one more community hearing on Bribie Island on the 16th April. Will the committee who has laid bare the issues of branch closures and removal of cash come good or hook their final report like the earlier Royal Commission Inquiry into Financial Services, which exposed major issues through their hearings, only to turn to water in their final report and recommendations, which allowed the banks to behave business as usual. This time all eyes will be on the Senate.
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Remember the parable of the frog, who slowly gets cooked to death, in a pot as the temperature rises – well, the same in true for Australians, as civil liberties such as the use of cash, are removed, even as the digital architecture for future control gets put in place. You can see parallels elsewhere round the world, and aligned with the agenda of several high profile non-elected bodies like the World Economic Forum – of “you will own nothing and be happy” fame.
Australia’s Digital ID Bill 2023 was initially introduced to the Senate on November 30, 2023, and has since undergone a Senate inquiry and brief consultation period before this week being pushed through the Senate without debate. Despite assurances of voluntariness and promises to simplify citizens’ lives, the Labor government has faced backlash for the lack of scrutiny given to the bill.
And there is of course the wider, story here potentially linking digital ID with Central Bank Digital Currency and Social Scores, perhaps enabling the idea peddled by the World Economic Forum and other non-elected global entities, that we the people can be better controlled in terms of what we can, say, or even purchase. So you value your privacy, liberty and the rule of law, the Digital ID Bill must be defeated, time to put pressure back on the house of representatives when the amended bill comes back.
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This is an edited version of a live discussion with Cameron K. Murray, Author of The Great Housing Hijack which reveals how vested interests pull the strings on the property market in Australia, and offers a solution for genuinely affordable housing for those who need it.
With 120,000 people homeless each night and one in five low-income private renters spending more than half their income on rent, it is clear Australia urgently needs a housing policy change.
For anyone who wants to truly understand the housing market in Australia, The Great Housing Hijack is essential reading. Drawing on the best housing policies around the world, Murray shows how Australia could create a genuinely affordable housing program without compromising the interests of existing property owners.
Murray argues that even if more housing were built, the average household would not end up spending any less on housing.
Murray proposes bypassing the private market altogether with a scheme called HouseMate. The federal government would buy or repurpose land, build homes, then sell them at a discounted price to Australians who do not own property.
Perhaps the most controversial argument in The Great Housing Hijack is that planning and zoning rules do not change how much new housing is built, just the location.
Journalist Tarric Brooker and I deep dive on the Australian Housing Crisis, as conclude that there is no easy fix, thanks to generations of bad policy and active intervention. So who are the winners and losers?
Tarric slides are here if you want to follow along: https://avidcom.substack.com/p/dfa-chart-pack-22nd-march-2024
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Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
The Aussie Housing Crisis Out To 2030 And Beyond? With Tarric Brooker...
State and Federal Governments have been marked with a massive “fail” in their half-hearted attempts to show they are really committed to increasing housing supply. Of course, the demand side issues of too high migration, and too lose lending are conveniently sidestepped, as big Australia and banks’ profits rule.
But according to a recent AFR piece, the supply of new homes will crash to the lowest level in over a decade by 2026, worsening housing and rental affordability, and leaving the federal government far short of its goal to build 1.2 million homes by mid-2029.
Across capital cities, 79,000 new homes will be finished in 2026, a drop of 26 per cent compared with last year due to planning bottlenecks, labour shortages and soaring material costs.
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Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.
Another chat with our property insider Edwin Almeida, as we look at the latest from the market. More supply questions, as construction costs rise, while some plan to offer zero deposit loans to attract voters.
Meantime the rental crisis deepens and opinion is divided in the WeeChat sphere.
The craziness continues…
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Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.
The Commonwealth Bank subsidiary Bankwest, the 130-year-old former Bank of Western Australia bank announced last Wednesday that it was moving to become a digital-only bank and would close 45 locations in the state. The 45 Bankwest branches that have been earmarked for closure will close their doors by October this year. There are 28 locations in Perth and 17 in regional WA. A further 15 branches will be rebranded under the Commonwealth Bank banner and are expected to finish their transformation by the end of the year.
Yes, this is the same CBA whose CEO Mat Comyn on 20th September 2023 in a statement to the Senate Inquiry into regional branch closures promised not to close more branches until at least 2026, even though they specifically excluded Bankwest from their statement, while saying “we recognise the unique and important contribution that regional Australia makes to our country”. “Our decision to pause regional branch closures is also predicated on customers and communities valuing our decision to stay”.
Committee member Senator Richard Colbeck said the Senate committee has been hearing plenty of people raising concerns about the vital banking services being lost.
“Every week in our hearings we hear from local communities how important these essential services are and how their communities are affected, yet those who are given a license to provide those services, the so-called service sector, continuously ignore those pleas and withdraw services – it is as though their ears were painted on,” he said.
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Our latest Friday afternoon chat with journalist Tarric Brooker focussed in the great housing debate, which has become a touchstone for debate in Parliament at the moment.
And using the great charts which Tarric presents we look at the issue from multiple dimensions, as well as a quick look at China’s property sector.
You can find Tarric’s charts here: https://avidcom.substack.com/p/dfa-chart-pack-1st-march-2024
An important update relating to the Section 11 power at the RBA with Robbie Barwick from the Citizens Party. In some really good news, it appears this change will be resisted in Parliament, so we explore how this came about, and the broader issues which this whole episode represents.
Yes, the democracy sausage is indeed still sizzling, largely thanks to individuals making their views known to our Politicians and the influence of social media on public discourse to positive effect!
See my show A Question Of Democracy! https://youtu.be/R8GNp1hYdq8
