A final 2023 chat with Robbie Barwick from the Australian Citizens Party. We look at the RBA’s latest outing on cash usage, the Senate review of the RBA’s independence bill, and the formation of a National Investment entity.
On 7 December 2023, the Senate referred the Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Bill 2023 [Provisions] to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 21 March 2024.
The critical issue is that the Treasurer is walking back Government’s power to intervene with RBA decisions if they do not agree. This power was put into the constitution years ago but has never been used.
Without it, the Technocrats will be able to take over, and follow the lead of the Bank For International settlements, to the potential disadvantage of ordinary Australians and businesses.
Make a submission to make the case for this power to be retained! The closing date for submissions to this inquiry is 2 February 2024.
A final 2023 chat with Robbie Barwick from the Australian Citizens Party. We look at the RBA’s latest outing on cash usage, the Senate review of the RBA’s independence bill, and the formation of a National Investment entity.
On 7 December 2023, the Senate referred the Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Bill 2023 [Provisions] to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 21 March 2024.
The critical issue is that the Treasurer is walking back Government’s power to intervene with RBA decisions if they do not agree. This power was put into the constitution years ago but has never been used.
Without it, the Technocrats will be able to take over, and follow the lead of the Bank For International settlements, to the potential disadvantage of ordinary Australians and businesses.
Make a submission to make the case for this power to be retained! The closing date for submissions to this inquiry is 2 February 2024.
An average of more than 50 UK bank branches have closed each month since 2015 and campaigners fear some retailers could stop accepting cash if it becomes too burdensome to process. That said, under government rules, free withdrawals and deposits will need to be available within one mile for people living in urban areas. In rural areas, where there are concerns over “cash deserts”, where the maximum distance is three miles.
This is important because cash remains a necessity for millions of people, research has found, with the elderly and those with disabilities among those likely to struggle. Branches have been more likely to close in disadvantaged areas.
Of course, Banks have pointed to the large reduction in branch use – a trend accelerated by the Covid pandemic – and the popularity of managing money via smartphones, as good reason for diluting their branch network.
But a recent survey by Age UK suggested that, among those who were uncomfortable about digital banking, the key concerns were fraud and scams, a lack of trust in online banking services, and a lack of computer skills.
And now, The British Retail Consortium says cash use has grown for the first time in 10 years as shoppers keep a close eye on their budgets while prices rise, retailers have said. They said 19% of purchases were made with notes and coins last year, echoing a report by banks showing a slight rebound. That’s up from 15% the previous year. Until 2015, notes and coins were used in more than half of transactions and, while card use now dominated, cash still had its benefits. Consumers made smaller but more frequent payments, the survey found.
The consortium said consumers were budgeting carefully to try to cope with cost of living pressures, and there was also a “natural return” for cash after it slumped during the pandemic.
It is essential use of cash is protected, you cannot leave it to the market, where banks are making a killing from extra fees on card transaction costs as a result of removing access to cash.
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
An average of more than 50 UK bank branches have closed each month since 2015 and campaigners fear some retailers could stop accepting cash if it becomes too burdensome to process. That said, under government rules, free withdrawals and deposits will need to be available within one mile for people living in urban areas. In rural areas, where there are concerns over “cash deserts”, where the maximum distance is three miles.
This is important because cash remains a necessity for millions of people, research has found, with the elderly and those with disabilities among those likely to struggle. Branches have been more likely to close in disadvantaged areas.
Of course, Banks have pointed to the large reduction in branch use – a trend accelerated by the Covid pandemic – and the popularity of managing money via smartphones, as good reason for diluting their branch network.
But a recent survey by Age UK suggested that, among those who were uncomfortable about digital banking, the key concerns were fraud and scams, a lack of trust in online banking services, and a lack of computer skills.
And now, The British Retail Consortium says cash use has grown for the first time in 10 years as shoppers keep a close eye on their budgets while prices rise, retailers have said. They said 19% of purchases were made with notes and coins last year, echoing a report by banks showing a slight rebound. That’s up from 15% the previous year. Until 2015, notes and coins were used in more than half of transactions and, while card use now dominated, cash still had its benefits. Consumers made smaller but more frequent payments, the survey found.
The consortium said consumers were budgeting carefully to try to cope with cost of living pressures, and there was also a “natural return” for cash after it slumped during the pandemic.
It is essential use of cash is protected, you cannot leave it to the market, where banks are making a killing from extra fees on card transaction costs as a result of removing access to cash.
Following the Optus outage this week, the Senate has launched an Inquiry into the issue and impact. One element to the fore was the lack of access to cash thanks to recent bank branch and ATM closures and some businesses choosing to go digital only. Useless when the network or power goes out.
So we need to make sure the Government hears from us about the essential utility of cash, and that they need to legislate to protect access and acceptance of it.
So make a submission to the current inquiry, deadline for which is 17th November.
Use your voice to make sure our elected officials get the message. Access to cash is a requirement, and it needs to be protected – as a safeguard to democracy!
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
Following the Optus outage this week, the Senate has launched an Inquiry into the issue and impact. One element to the fore was the lack of access to cash thanks to recent bank branch and ATM closures and some businesses choosing to go digital only. Useless when the network or power goes out.
So we need to make sure the Government hears from us about the essential utility of cash, and that they need to legislate to protect access and acceptance of it.
So make a submission to the current inquiry, deadline for which is 17th November.
Use your voice to make sure our elected officials get the message. Access to cash is a requirement, and it needs to be protected – as a safeguard to democracy!
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
Optus’ network failures have again highlighted the risks to the community when technology breaks. There were structural reasons why the failures happened, but the fallout was significant.
This brings the need to ensure access to cash is enshrined in law in Australia into sharp contrast again. This has already happened in a number of other countries.
The Change.org petition https://www.change.org/p/an-australian-cash-and-banking-guarantee has more than 130,000 signatures, and I encourage my followers to sign up.
We cannot be held hostage to a digital future which is intrinsically unreliable.
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
Cash Remains King In An Outage (So Let’s Protect It!)
Optus’ network failures have again highlighted the risks to the community when technology breaks. There were structural reasons why the failures happened, but the fallout was significant.
This brings the need to ensure access to cash is enshrined in law in Australia into sharp contrast again. This has already happened in a number of other countries.
The Change.org petition https://www.change.org/p/an-australian-cash-and-banking-guarantee has more than 130,000 signatures, and I encourage my followers to sign up.
We cannot be held hostage to a digital future which is intrinsically unreliable.
http://www.martinnorth.com/
Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
An important debrief on the past weeks Senate Inquiry into Regional Branch closures, use of cash and other banking issues, with Robbie Barwick from the Australian Citizens Party.
An important debrief on the past weeks Senate Inquiry into Regional Branch closures, use of cash and other banking issues, with Robbie Barwick from the Australian Citizens Party.
