Unless the Australian people stop them, the Treasurer and Shadow Treasurer look set to elevate unelected central bankers above the authority of the elected government—enshrining a bankers’ dictatorship with no democratic protections against ideological monetary policies that crush the people but enrich the banks.
After voting down a similar motion in September 2022, this month Temora Shire in NSW reversed its position and carried a motion to support a public post office bank.
The dramatic change of view follows NAB announcing the closure of the local Temora branch, one of 38 regional bank branches NAB has closed or announced to close this year.
The Senate inquiry into bank closures in regional Australia will hold hearings in WA this week, to give Western Australians the chance to have their say on the banks abandoning regional communities. On Tuesday the Senate inquiry will be in Carnamah, four hours north of Perth, where Westpac closed the town’s only bank in March.
The 200 Glenroy locals who protested the closure of the Glenroy Post Office last Friday, including Harold from Neighbours, represent a powerful message to the Albanese government: people are sick to death of losing their essential services.
Stop Press: CBA has just confirmed that the information below about its three-year moratorium on branch closures does not include the regional branches of CBA’s subsidiary BankWest, which is two-thirds of WA’s regional branches. This is unacceptable, and BankWest customers should demand CBA change its policy and include BankWest branches.
To support keeping the option of cheque payments, make a supplementary submission to the Senate inquiry into bank closures in regional Australia.
Once again, the government is rigging the financial system in favour of the major banks by announcing a phase-out of cheque payments by 2030.
