Victory: Banks forced to bend to people’s needs!

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Lead Editorial

10 May 2023
Vol. 25 No. 19

Woe betide the plans of the banking elite to make the RBA fully independent, and rob the government of any oversight over banking, so they can steal our savings to rescue their financial system when crunch time comes. We have just demonstrated that the banks can be forced into line by the actions of a mobilised citizenry working through their elected parliamentary representatives!

Instead of the banks robbing us of our democratic rights and our money, we are robbing them of their exit plan when their system crashes.

The Senate inquiry into regional banking closures is turning a blowtorch on the banks, and Westpac has melted. Having sweated under the scrutiny of the committee’s first Sale hearing on 2 March, Westpac refused to attend the next hearing, effectively saying “leave us alone—we’ll stop closing branches!” (p. 3).

Even the media are jumping on the victory bandwagon, from regional press to 6PR in Perth, which congratulated the Australian Citizens Party during a drive time radio interview with Robert Barwick last night. Many different groups jumped to be identified with this victory.

With this win on the board, we will press the advantage. Westpac has undermined the other banks, by showing that branch closures aren’t justified. We will push for the inquiry to put the spotlight on every town losing its banks. Simultaneously, we will push our positive plan for a national infrastructure and a postal bank, already raised in the wake of this week’s win by LNP Senator Gerard Rennick in a Sky News interview on 9 May.

The impact that banks have on the livelihood of every Australian, in every corner of this continent, cannot be underestimated. Today, the nation is experiencing the exact reverse of the rapidly expanding growth unleashed by King O’Malley’s vision for a top-down national banking system combined with an extensive bottom-up postal banking network. His was a thoroughly-composed blueprint for development of the nation and the nation’s people. It required battles over many decades and was never unleashed in its entirety, but it saw the nation blossom and grow. Today, amid a spiralling collapse of growth, livelihood and culture, we have the chance to bring about his plan’s fulfilment.

Another brilliant example of the power of the people to change their destiny is the Assange campaign, which has tapped into the national sentiment of Aussies to stand with a fellow Australian, imprisoned for revealing the lies that led us into destructive wars. The AUKUS subs rip-off has drawn out the realisation that we are again on that pathway, and especially as we struggle to pay the mortgage or buy the weekly groceries, we are not about to let it go unquestioned.

Both the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, have finally been drawn on the Assange issue, with Albanese admitting that if it proved warranted, Assange has “served his time” anyway; and US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy received a cross-party delegation from the Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group. Former Foreign Minister Bob Carr issued a statement saying that with both leaders having said “the US should drop extradition proceedings”, the test is now on: “If America persists it will show Washington treats Australia with contempt and regards us as a client state not to be taken seriously.” The Assange team is escalating, with rallies planned when US President Biden is in Sydney for the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprising the USA, Australia, Japan and India)—another front for warmongering. Get involved if you can (p. 2).

Both of these campaigns reflect a building groundswell that can’t be ignored by otherwise largely impotent politicians. This is a lesson for them too—when they grow a spine they can accomplish big things! With the new financial meltdown building, this fight is coming to a head fast, so strap in for the ride!

In this issue:

• Parliamentary scrutiny works!
• Demand democratic accountability for the Reserve Bank
• Commonwealth breaks pledge to pause bank closures
• Defence Review enslaves Australia to the US war machine 
• Morrison, Sinodinos join pigs at the AUKUS trough 
• London insists on perilous escalation against Russia 
• The looming financial storm 
• Letter from Julian Assange to King Charles III 
• A war on old-school banking 
• CBDC and the threat to commercial banking 
• Westpac forced to backflip! 
• In loving memory of Con Michaelides, 1947-2023 
• ALMANAC: The Industrial Finance Department Part II

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