To address the growing uncertainty over the financial system, in the face of rising inflation and interest rates, the increased risk of a domestic banking crisis because of our banks exposure to the property bubble, the increasing rate of bank branch closures and threat to viability of our postal service, the Citizens Party is spearheading a campaign to establish a public post office bank.
- Why we need a public post office bank
- Seven benefits of a public post office bank
- Commonwealth Postal Savings Bank Bill
- How a public postal bank would work in Australia
- State of Banking in Australia – The national picture
- International examples of post office banking
- Recruit your community—Local Government Resolutions
- Solve financing needs of local government
- Prominent calls for, and to investigate a public bank option
- Christine Holgate and The Australia Post Senate Inquiry
Skip to What you can do
29 August 2024 – LPO Group supports a Postal Bank – An Australian Postal Bank is gaining momentum with backing from the government! By supporting the Australian Postal Bank, we can secure the future of banking services for all Australians, no matter where they live.
28 August 2024 – The Australian Bridget Carter – Government-owned bank created out of Australia Post back on Labor’s agenda – A government-owned bank created out of Australia Post is understood to be back on the agenda, five years after then-Labor leader Bill Shorten indicated that it would be on the party’s to-do list if elected… Download PDF of article or Read more online (Note: article is behind paywall)
20 June 2024 – 6PR Radio – Oliver Peterson – Australian Citizens Party push for “People’s Bank” – Interview with Robert Barwick LIVE in the Perth Studio – The Australian Citizens Party is warning Australia Post is working to sabotage moves for a so-called “People’s Bank” run through the post office.
19 June 2024 – 3AW Radio – Tom Elliott – ‘Bite the bullet’: Tom Elliott’s idea to turn post offices into actual banks – Tom Elliott has given his idea this morning to turn post offices into actual banks, as more and more bank branches close across the country.
19 June 2024 – 3AW Radio – Tom Elliott – Australia Post backbone backs Tom Elliott’s idea to turn post offices into actual banks – Interview with Angela Cramp – Executive Director of Licensed Post Office Group (features call in from Robert Barwick 26m – 36m26s
26 May 2024 – ABC Radio – Ian McNamara – Australia All Over
Macca talks to Dale Webster about Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport final report into Regional Bank Branch closures.
24 May 2024 – 6PR Radio – Oliver Peterson – Senate inquiry recommends opening of public banks after wave of closures – Interview with Robert Barwick
A Senate committee has recommended establishing a publicly owned bank and making the Banking Code of Conduct mandatory after the recent wave of bank closures across Australia.
A wide range of sweeping recommendations to regional banking practices has been handed down this afternoon. The Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport has finally released its report into the banks’ actions in regional Australia, with chair Matt Canavan suggesting a huge overhaul to the banks’ responsibilities and obligations in rural and regional areas.
13 May 2024 – 7NEWS Sunshine Coast – Dani Sharp – Commonwealth Bank has announced it’s closing its Buderim Branch – Includes interview with Robert Barwick (ACP Research Director).
13 March 2024 – ABC 730 – Rhiannon Shine – Bank branches and ATMs keep closing – Includes coverage of ACP campaign and Robert Barwick (ACP Research Director).
Bank branches and ATMs keep closing. The latest announcement is from BankWest, which will close all its branches in Western Australia by the end of the year as part of a move to digital-only banking.
As part of that effort, the Citizens Party has drafted the Commonwealth Postal Savings Bank Bill, in coordination with Bob Katter MP, to establish a public post office “people’s bank” similar to the way the original Commonwealth Bank started in post offices in 1912.
Importantly, the original Commonwealth Bank first proved its value as a public bank in the global financial panic of 1914, when it averted a “run” on all Australian banks by the actions of its Governor, Sir Denison Miller, who announced publicly that the Commonwealth Bank stood behind the deposits in all of the banks; consequently, the feared bank panic didn’t eventuate. (In London, which was the epicentre of the 1914 panic, the Commonwealth Bank’s London office was the only bank to remain open during the emergency.)
Like the Commonwealth Bank then, a new public post office bank will be able to guarantee deposits and provide financial services because it is owned by the government. Put simply, governments are far, far less likely to go bankrupt than private banking corporations are, so customers of public banks can have confidence that their deposits will always be honoured and they will have access to banking services.
From Canberra
Senate establishes broad inquiry into regional bank closures
On 14 September 2023, the Senate granted an extension of time to report until the last sitting day in May 2024
Press Conference from first public hearing in Sale, Victoria of Senate Inquiry into Bank Closures in Regional Australia
– Citizens Party Media Release – The outcry in regional communities over losing bank branches has motivated the Senate to establish a broad inquiry that will run all year.
This is a crucial opportunity for all affected communities, groups and individuals to challenge the banks’ reasons for withdrawing branch services, and explain the real-world impact of branch closures.
The inquiry will also consider solutions to the crisis, which provides an opportunity for supporters of a public postal bank to get the committee to examine the postal bank solution.
The banks claim that they are closing branches in response to their customers moving away from using branches and onto digital banking platforms, and that these are commercial decisions to maintain their profitability.
They also claimed they are working with Australia Post to continue to serve their customers who need face-to-face banking services.
The previous government’s Regional Banking Taskforce, established in late 2021 just prior to the federal election, accepted these claims by the banks, as reflected even in the terms of reference. This was not surprising, considering that eight of the eleven members of the Taskforce represented banks.
In accepting the banks’ justification, the Taskforce report, published by current Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones on 30 September last year, had the effect of giving the banks a green light to accelerate their branch closures. … Read On
1 December 2023 – Citizens Party Testimony Senate Inquiry into Bank Closures in Regional Australia
ACP Research Director Robert Barwick and Executive Member Glen Isherwood gave testimony at the Senate Inquiry into Bank Closures in Regional Australia in Parliament House, on the public post office bank solution for about 25minutes. After a brief opening statement they answer Senator’s Questions about the proposed solution of a Government Bank.
You can watch it here or on YouTube.
22 August 2023 – Spectator Australia – ONE NATION Senator Malcolm Roberts – Banking is a human right: can a people’s bank save us from ESG madness?
Australia has a problem. The financial security of the nation’s citizens dangles on the threads of ‘social virtue’ spun out by self-interested banks. These corporate giants are more concerned with their ESG ranking than their customers’ bank balances. … In Australia, the need for a people’s bank continues to grow. As does its inherent guarantee to provide essential banking services. …Read On
2 August 2023 – Senator Gerard Rennick: “I see no reason why we shouldn’t have a public bank.”
Senator Rennick (QLD) Statements by Senators: Banking is an essential service. Like most other essential services in Australia, we have both a private sector and a public sector. We have private and public schools and we have private and public hospitals, so I see no reason why we shouldn’t have a public bank. I would like to point out the Robert Menzies government were quite happy with the fact that we had a public bank. There was never any need to sell off the CBA, the Commonwealth Bank, in 1992. Over the three tranches it was sold for $8 billion, yet today it makes $10 billion a year annually. We have got a serious crisis in this country whereby people cannot get access to proper banking services, especially in the regions, but we are seeing more and more branches closing in outer metropolitan areas as well.
I believe that a public bank can fill the gap left by the private banks who are failing to provide these services. They can provide face-to-face services in terms of cash, credit cards and lending. It’s very important that we increase the range of products available to people. I don’t believe is that competition in the banking sector in Australia is robust, and I’ll give you one example. In the United States, you can get a home loan for up to 30 years, yet here in Australia the longest you can get a home loan for, in most cases, is five years. … Link to Hansard
11 July 2023 – ABC Brisbane – Senator Gerard Rennick is interviewed by Steve Austin about the state of banking
As a result of the Senate Banking Inquiry, the Comm Bank’s has announced a three-year moratorium on closures of regional branches. While this is a positive step I believe they are just kicking the can down the road before they try to close branches again. Banks have a social license to service the community and should honour it.
There is real need for banking reform in this country, at both the retail and wholesale level. Serious consideration should be given to re-starting a public bank and insurance office, similar to the former Commonwealth Bank and State Government Insurance offices that would commit to keeping branches open. The bank can also offer longer term loans of 10-20 years for homeowners as well as tax-free savings accounts in lieu of Superannuation.. The Federal government should look reinsuring itself rather than underwrite private insurance companies to the tune of $10 billion. Forty percent of insurance costs are reinsurance costs paid offshore. It’s another way in which our government is allowing profits to go offshore, rather than use its sovereign powers to retain profits in Australia.
25 May 2023 – Senator Perrin Davey questions Australia Post about becoming a post office bank
Nationals Senator Perrin Davey (NSW) at the Senate Estimates hearing of the Environment and Communications Committee on 25 May 2023:
I have a couple of questions about Bank@Post, which I’ve asked you about in previous estimates. We know the broad and far-reaching stretch of Bank@Post services and the fact that they provide services on behalf of about 81 financial institutions across Australia. There has been quite a level of advocacy for a Commonwealth postal bank. Have you had conversations with those advocates about what that would mean for Australia Post and Bank@Post? … Link to Hansard
6 Mar 2023 – Sen. Gerard Rennick – MATTERS OF URGENCY – Cost of living at crisis point—We need the ‘Sovereign Seven’ – Senate Speech
Rather than manipulate the price of money which will only help speculators and banks, the RBA should fund a Sovereign bank to fund the Sovereign seven Infrastructure assets – Dams, Power Stations, Roads, Rail, Ports, Airports and Telecommunications – to underpin Australia’s sovereignty.
This would deal with inflation in a productive way that creates jobs and provides essential services, rather than the destructive way the RBA is following of austerity which will cause massive unemployment and homelessness. – Link to Hansard
3 Mar 2023 – ONE NATION Senator Malcolm Roberts – What are regional banking options?
“A Postal Bank would fit Australia’s gap in regional banking services quite neatly and has been implemented successfully in Japan and New Zealand. The Postal Bank would convert current Australia Post branches into a proper national bank run by the government, providing face-to-face banking services to regional Australians. The benefits of the Postal Bank are many.” … Read On
10 Feb 2023 – Greens NSW announce plan for a NSW public bank amidst rate rise chaos and mortgage stress
“Banking is an essential public service. You simply can’t operate in our modern society without a bank account – handing the reins of this vital public good entirely over to the private sector has been a disaster for households right across Australia … We have the opportunity now to start taking back control of our banking system, by establishing a bank in NSW that is run by the people and for the people. Our public bank would put community needs front and centre.” … Read On
5 Feb 2023 – KAP Media Release – Banks abandoning bricks and mortar but bigger issues at play: Katter
Private banks are abandoning rural Australians at an alarming rate and are relying on public-owned infrastructure – namely the Australia Post network – to plug the local service deficits left in their wake, Katter’s Australian Party Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter has said. … The Traeger MP said establishing a “People’s Bank” designed to facilitate economic prosperity and rural and regional growth was a foundational policy platform for the KAP and had been the focus of extensive legislative efforts for the party at both the State and Federal levels. … Read More
6 FEB 2023 – Statements by Members – Hon Darren Chester (NAT) – Member for Gippsland
The contempt of banking executives towards regional Australia is well known, with more than 1,600 branches closing in the past six years. In Gippsland, we’ve experienced dozens of closures in our smaller towns, but now Westpac is going a step further.
Forget about crooks wearing balaclavas; the real bank robbers are the executives making decisions in city boardrooms. These corporate bank-robbers are robbing country towns of jobs, they’re robbing vulnerable people of services and they’re robbing regional Australia of growth opportunities.
Westpac has just announced it’s closing a branch in the city of Sale, which is a town of more than 14,000 people and services a much larger agricultural region. It is a town which is a centre of economic activity in that central Gippsland region.
My advice to Westpac customers in Sale is this: wherever possible, move your business. Move your business to a bank that still has a branch in your town. It’s time to teach these bankers a lesson. Take your money across the street. Refinance your home loan. If Westpac executives only want to focus on their own huge profits, it’s time to hit them where it hurts. It’s time for customers to stop being held to ransom. It’s time for the corporate bank-robbers to receive a message. Move your money to another bank. Link to HANSARD
6 FEB 2023 – Statements by Members – Mr Colin Boyce (LNP) – Member for Flynn
Last week customers of Westpac’s Kin Kora bank branch in Gladstone were notified that their local branch was closing. This bank branch closure joins over 550 branches that have been closed by the big four banks since January 2020. Bank branch closures have occurred all over the Flynn electorate in Central Queensland in communities such as Gladstone, Tannum Sands, Moura, Biloela, Theodore, Emerald, Springsure, Capella, Mundubbera, Gin Gin, Gayndah, Gracemere, Taroom, Wondai and Mount Morgan. Small towns like Moura have difficulty when they host their annual events, like the Moura Coal and Country Festival, so they have to hire ATMs to have EFTPOS available at the secretary’s office. Theodore’s Bulls’n’Barrels Bonanza hires two ATMs, as it can’t use EFTPOS due to poor communications and internet reception. The same thing happened at Jambin’s Australia Day ceremony. Too many people were trying to access the wi-fi, which crashed the system and left people unable to purchase anything.
On many occasions, the big banks have advertised for customers to use online services. While this may be viable for some people, I have serious concerns for our elderly and those who rely on local bank services. Constituents in some communities have to drive hours to visit their nearest bank branch because of branch closures. It is simply not good enough. It’s time for the big banks to put their money where their mouth is and continue their banking services in rural Queensland. Link to HANSARD
6 FEB 2023 – Katter Australia Party – Mr Bob Katter – Member for Kennedy
8 Feb 2023 – Michael McCormack (NAT) – Banking and Financial Services – Closing branches throughout regional Australia
I’ve been communicating today with the Mayor of Junee Shire Council, Neil Smith, and the general manager, James Davis, about their ongoing concerns about the closure of that wonderful railway and now jail town’s only bank. The Commonwealth Bank is set to close its doors. … Link to HANSARD
MEDIA
Bankwest have announced they will close every one of their physical branches in WA in an effort to “accelerate investment in our digital banking and broker services”. Forty-five branches will close within the next six months, while 15 regional locations will be converted to CBA branches by the end of the year.
21 Feb 2024 – Sky News Breakfast – Interview with Associate Professor Andy Schmulow
Andy is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, in The University of Wollongong, admitted as an Australian Legal Practitioner in the Supreme Court of Victoria, an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa, and the Principal of Clarity Prudential Regulatory Consulting, Pty Ltd.
He currently serves on an independent expert advisory panel convened by the South African National Treasury advising on the Conduct of Financial Institutions Bill.
PDF – Submission 581 – To Senate Regional Bank Branch Closure Inquiry
13 February 2024 – 5AA Radio – Matthew Pantelis – Bank in person cash withdrawals – Interview with Robert Barwick from the Australian Citizens Party on banks reducing in-person cash withdrawals.
6 February 2024 – 5AA Radio – Matthew Pantelis – Bank branches and ATMs – Interview with Robert Barwick (Australian Citizens Party) about bank branches and ATMs closing.
31 January 2024 – 6PR Radio – Oliver Peterson – Robert Barwick discusses latest NAB branch closures
1 December 2023 – 5AA Radio – Matthew Pantelis – Senate hearing on bank closures – Interview with Robert Barwick (Australian Citizens Party) about giving evidence to the Senate hearing on closing bank branches.
1 December 2023 – Blake Antrobus news.com.au – Senate inquiry told more than 2100 Aussie bank branches had closed in past 6 years
Shocking figures detailing bank closures across the country have revealed the true number of Aussie branches that have been shut. … Read On
1 December 2023 – Stephanie Gardiner The Canberra Times – Banking ‘bullies’ leave vulnerable people open to scams
The major banks are “bullies” who are abandoning rural communities and leaving vulnerable customers at risk of financial scams, a Senate inquiry has been told. Nearly 800 bank branches have closed in regional and rural Australia since June 2017, according to the latest data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).. … Read On
1 December 2023 – Stephanie Gardiner AAP – Letter perfect: Australia Post to step up where our local banks are fleeing
Its remit could evolve even further, amid a renewed push to reinvent the national postal service as Australia’s public bank. A Senate inquiry examining the effects of increasing bank closures across country areas will on Friday consider the role of Australia Post in filling the void. … Read On
22 November 2023 – Michelle Bowes news.com.au – Former ANZ staff back whistleblower claims
ANZ said a whistleblower’s account of the bank’s tactics to reduce branch transactions wasn’t accurate. Former staff tell a different story. … Read On
21 November 2023 – Michelle Bowes news.com.au – Whistleblower alleges ANZ is deliberately pushing customers out of branches
A banking industry whistleblower has sensationally claimed ANZ has “fudged” its statistics in order to justify branch closures. … Read On
18 November 2023 – Charlie Mills ABC Pilbara – Tom Price residents find creative banking solutions after Westpac closes bank branch
Bank branches have been permanently closing their doors around the country and for those in regional areas their sudden absence has been particularly noticeable. Since 2017, close to 800 bank branches have been lost in regional and remote Australia. But at one town in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, residents have been finding their own work-arounds to get their banking done.
27 October 2023 – Emily McPherson 9 News – Coober Pedy’s last bank closed eight months ago. Here’s what happened next
Locals in the South Australian outback town of Coober Pedy will do anything to avoid going to the bank – and with good reason. That’s because the closest branch is 540 kilometres away in Port Augusta. … Read On
24 September 2023 – Dale Webster The Regional – Banks’ disconnect from regional Australia never more obvious
THE chief executive of the Australian Banking Association Anna Bligh did not read a single submission to the 2021-2022 Regional Banking Taskforce she was a member of. … Read On
23 September 2023 – James Eyers – AFR – Rural branch closures stir up deep emotions about the role of banks
Smithton, a small town in Tasmania, produces $840m of commodities a year. But as cash dwindles, it has lost its CBA and ANZ branches. The mayor wants answers. … Read PDF of newspaper clipping or Read more online (Note: article is behind paywall)
21 September 2023 – PowerFM/ARN Regional SA Radio – Around SA with Chris Guscott – Regional Bank Closures Inquiry Submissions Extended For South Australians – Interview with Robert Barwick, Austarlian Citizens Party Research Director.
Those looking for answers into regional bank closures near them in South Australia now have more time to provide their experiences to the senate inquiry. The hearing submissions deadline has been extended into 2024, with locals affected now having more time to write to the Rural/Regional Affairs and Transport Committee with their stories.
21 September 2023 – Monty Jacka ABC Riverina – Regional bank closures ‘disastrous’ for small towns, federal inquiry hears
Regional bank closures are “ripping the heart out of country towns”, according to the chair of a federal inquiry. The senate committee has ventured into country New South Wales for the first time to hold a public hearing in Junee, about 45 kilometres from Wagga Wagga. … Read On
21 September 2023 – Jack Quail news.com.au – Big four bank bosses grilled on regional and rural branch closures
A parliamentary inquiry has threatened the big four banks with new obligations for them to stay in regional and rural areas, amid accusations the banks are abandoning the bush. … Read On
19 September 2023 – 5AA Radio – Matthew Pantelis – Interview with Robert Barwick (Australian Citizens Party) about cashless banks and the Senate enquiry into regional banking.
12 September 2023 – Sean Van Der Wielen Harvey-Waroona Reporter – Shire of Waroona holds community meeting to discuss closure of only bank branch remaining in town
The Waroona community has turned out to discuss the closure of the town’s only remaining bank branch, with one resident going as far as calling for a demonstration to protest the decision. About 180 residents descended on the Waroona Memorial Hall on Thursday night for a meeting about National Australia Bank’s decision to close its South Western Highway branch on November 17. … Read On
4 September 2023 – Laura Williams Western Plains App – Bank closures justified by hidden figures
Last week, three NAB branches closed in the Western Plains, two more dominoes in the falling regional banking landscape. For Lake Cargelligo, it was the death of the last bank in their community. The numbers may not tell the whole story, however. … Read On
29 August 2023 – Sean Van Der Wielen Harvey-Waroona Reporter – Politicians and unions express anger and disappointment after NAB’s decision to close its Waroona branch
Politicians on both sides of the political divide and the union movement have condemned the National Australia Bank’s decision to close down the Waroona branch, with the move being described as “outrageous”, “cowardly” and “devastating”. … Read On
25 August 2023 – Dale Webster Independent Australia – Hearing exposes regional banks’ pattern of profit over people
Hearings into regional bank closures in WA have exposed the level of corporate greed rampant within the sector. … Read On
14 August 2023 – 6PR Radio – Oliver Peterson – Senate inquiry into regional bank closures to hold WA hearings – Interview with Robert Barwick (Australian Citizens Party) about how a national public bank could solve this widespread problem.
8 August 2023 – Zaida Glibanovic LaTrobe Valley Express – Another one bites the dust
ANOTHER huge blow came for Morwell last week, when the National Bank of Australia (NAB) announced the closure of its Morwell branch. The branch, on will close on Thursday, 26 October 2023. … Read On
26 July 2023 – Donnybrook Balingup Community Radio – Talk of Our Shire – The Future of Cash – Interview with Robert Barwick from the Australian Citizens Party talking about the future of cash.
11 July 2023 – 6PR Radio – Oliver Peterson – Regional bank closures continue across Australia – Interview with Robert Barwick Australian Citizens Party confirms the Commonwealth Bank moratorium would not apply to Bankwest branches.
7 July 2023 – Chris Roe Region Riverina – Commonwealth Bank to keep regional closures on pause for another three years
Australia’s biggest lender, the Commonwealth Bank, has announced it will extend its promise not to close any regional branches for at least three more years. … Read On
6 July 2023 – Dale Webster Independent Australia – NAB data accounting for bank closures not the full quid
The National Australia Bank (NAB) has been pulling a swifty on customers who have lost branches since September last year, using incomplete visitation data to justify its decisions. … Read On
22 May 2023 – Eliza Bavin Yahoo! Finance – ANZ slammed over branch closures: ‘Clearly don’t care’
The senate inquiry into branch closures has exposed a major flaw in ANZ’s decision-making process. … Read On
19 May 2023 – Larissa Waterson and Jason Katsaras ABC North West Qld – Mass exodus of regional bank branches across Australia leaves residents seeking solutions
Janessa Bidgood runs an annual event in her rural town that makes over $500,000 and contributes hundreds of thousands of tourism dollars to the wider community. … Read On
17 May 2023 – Dale Webster Independent Australia – Westpac no-show after public humiliation at first bank closures hearing
After a humiliating round of questioning over bank closures, Westpac chose to sit out the next hearing and reversed its decision to close a branch in the region of the Inquiry. … Read On
10 May 2023 – Dale Webster Independent Australia – Commonwealth Bank breaks pledge to halt branch closures
Despite a promise not to close regional branches, the Commonwealth Bank is bending the rules on the definition of ‘regional’ and closing yet another branch. … Read On
9 May 2023 – 6PR Radio – Oliver Peterson – Westpac goes back on decision to close bank branches – Interview with Robert Barwick (Australian Citizens Party)
9 May 2023 – Francesco Salvo ABC Mildura-Swan Hill – Westpac reverses decision to close eight regional branches as senate inquiry continues
Westpac has scrapped plans to shut a number of branches across regional Australia, months after it put the closures on hold pending the outcome of a senate inquiry into banking services. … Read On
3 Mar 2023 – WIN NEWS Toowoomba
The Finance Sector Union is calling on banks to have community consultation over branch closures in regional areas.
2 Mar 2023 – WIN NEWS Gippsland
Some of Australia’s top banking executives have gone on the stand at the first Parliamentary Inquiry into regional bank closures.
3 Mar 2023 – Holly Hales news.com.au – Senate inquiry examines impact of bank branch closures in regional areas
The full impact of the closure of bank branches across regional Australia has been revealed in a Senate inquiry. … Read On
2 Mar 2023 – DRIVE – ABC Radio National – What do you do when a bank closes?
Over the past five years 30 per cent of Australia’s bank branches have shut. That’s the focus of a federal inquiry which has begun today in Sale, in Victoria’s Gippsland region. Guest: Darren Chester, Nationals member for Gippsland.
2 Mar 2023 – ABC News – The Business – Banks told to put people before profits amid regional closures
Australia’s big four banks are being asked to put people before profits when it comes to the closure of regional branches. Around a third of regional branches have closed in the past five years, leaving many Australians without vital services.
22 Feb 2023 – Ch.10 THE PROJECT – Community Tries To Save Its Only Bank As Banks Turn Huge Profits
Earlier this month, the Senate announced an enquiry into banning closures affecting rural and regional communities. One NSW town says enough is enough as they fight to save their town’s banks.
2 Mar 2023 – Oliver Jacques Region Riverina – Push for return of government bank after spate of regional branch closures
There is a renewed push for the Federal Government to re-establish its own public bank that could provide services to small towns that have lost their last financial institution. … Read On
2 Mar 2023 – Daniel Ziffer and Georgia Lenton-Williams ABC NEWS – A third of the nation’s bank branches have shut in the past five years—for people in the country, that’s a huge problem
Despite soaring profits for Australia’s big four banks, that number in the billions, almost one-in-three of their branches have closed in the past five years and now a parliamentary committee is examining the impact of those closures, especially on regional centres. … Read On
1 Mar 2023 – Emily Middleton The Guardian – The Australian towns where the nearest bank branch is nearly 1,000km away
With nearly 100 regional branches either closed or soon to close, getting to the bank is becoming increasingly difficult for Australians in remote areas. If you are a Westpac customer in the town of Kununurra, Western Australia, you now need to cross the border and travel almost 1,000km to your nearest branch. … Read On
28 Feb 2023 – The Conversation Hour – ABC Radio Melbourne – How important is it to have a bank branch in your community?
A Senate inquiry into rural and regional bank closures was announced after the closure of 100 regional bank branches since September 2022. The first hearing is to be held in Sale, Victoria in March. The inquiry will look at the economic and welfare impacts of losing banks in regional Australia, as well as the process banks are following to close branches and the reasons being given.
23 Feb 2023 – SA Greens – Hon Robert Simms raises a Motion in the SA Parliament concerning Regional Bank Closures
22 Feb 2023 – SA Greens – Member Robert Simms asks a Question about Regional Bank Closures in the SA Parliament
17 Feb 2023 – Ngaarda Media – Senate Inquiry into bank closures across Australia
There have been 92 bank branches closed or announced to close since September. Some of these banks are the only ones in the towns for hundreds of kilometres. … Read On
17 Feb 2023 – Eliza Sayon Public Spectrum – Westpac defies Senate request on postponing regional bank closure
Seven more regional banks are expected to close this month, leaving regional communities to lose their only bank unless Westpac does not postpone their closure. … Robert Barwick, Research Director of the Australian Citizens Party which campaigned very hard for the inquiry, asked whether it was acceptable to Prime Minister Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers that the banks defy a Senate inquiry. … Read On
15 Feb 2023 – Ch.9 TODAY SHOW – ‘What’s happened to customer care?’ : Frustrated Karl hits out at ‘disgraceful’ banks – Interview with Finance Sector Union secretary, Julia Angrisano
The big banks of Australia have been accused of putting profit before people after hundreds of branch closures in both regional communities and metropolitan areas. ATM numbers have also dropped as bank bosses steer branches to push customers to online services instead. But despite this cost-cutting approach to the business, the big banks are tipped to make a $30 billion profit this year. … Read On or Watch on 9Now website
14 Feb 2023 – Ch.9 TODAY SHOW – Karl unleashes on big banks as regional closures soar – Interview with Cloncurry Mayor, Greg Campbell
Karl Stefanovic has blasted the big banks after news another branch is set to close its doors, leaving a regional community in the lurch. Today has confirmed 92 banks across the country have shut their doors or announced closure notices since September last year. … Read On or Watch on 9Now website
14 Feb 2023 – Sarah Sharples news.com.au – Westpac to close 20 branches across NSW, Qld, Victoria and SA
The major bank has been criticised for making a “brazen” decision and accused of “abandoning customers”. … Its latest move could see up to 91 jobs cut, with Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano saying Westpac had closed large numbers of branches over the past year. … Read On
14 Feb 2023 – 2BG Radio – Ray Hadley – More banks to close across Australia as profits soar
14 Feb 2023 – 3AW Radio – Neil Mitchell – More than a dozen Victorian bank branches to close in coming months
14 Feb 2023 – 2GB Radio – The Ray Hadley Morning Show – More on Westpac Bank Branch Closures [Starts at 28:55]
13 Feb 2023 – John Kehoe AFR – CBA heeds Senate demand, pauses regional branch closures –
Banks are under political pressure to follow Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s decision to pause regional bank closures while a parliamentary inquiry is held this year. … The Australian Citizens Party, which wants the government to set up a public bank similar to New Zealand’s Kiwibank, lobbied MPs and senators to establish the inquiry. … Read PDF of newspaper clipping or Read more online (Note: article is behind paywall)
13 Feb 2023 – 2GB Radio – The Ray Hadley Morning Show – Interview with Robbie Katter on Westpac closure of Cloncurry Branch [Starts at 1:30:25]
12 Feb 2023 – 9 News National – ‘Save our bank’: NSW town’s last bank closes as raft of regional branches shut up shop
A parliamentary inquiry has been set up to look at the closure of bank branches across New South Wales regional and rural towns. … Read Transcript (Video in Tweet Above)
11 Feb 2023 – Peter Goers The Adveriser (Adelaide) – Why do banks hate us? They need us—but keep shutting branches
What’s worse, opined a great poet, the man who robs a bank or the man who founds a bank? At least the robber knows he’s a criminal. Why do banks hate us? They need us and hate us. These endless… Read More (Note: article is behind paywall)
10 Feb 2023 – 6PR Radio – Oliver Peterson – Calls for the return of ‘public banks’ – Interview with Robert Barwick (Australian Citizens Party)
10 Feb 2023 – Patrick Durkin AFR – On the road with a postie in the dying days of snail mail
Australia Post’s CEO says letters are in “unstoppable decline” but the letters sector, unions and politicians like Pauline Hanson have other ideas. … Australian Citizens Party Research Director Robert Barwick argues the solution to Australia Post’s financial pressure is a government post office bank. … Read PDF of newspaper clipping or Read More (Note: article is behind paywall)
10 Feb 2023 – ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt – Parliamentary inquiry into regional banking to be held as branch closures continue
A parliamentary inquiry into regional bank closures will be held by the Senate, following the termination of hundreds of branches across the country. … Read On
10 Feb 2023 – Euan Morrisson Burnett Today – Where have all the banks gone?
Hundreds of bank branches have been closing across the nation and the federal Senate will be soon asking ‘why?’ … Katter’s Australian Party Leader and State Member for Traeger, Robbie Katter, said … he wanted to see a Commonwealth Government-owned banking corporation established under a proposed Commonwealth Postal Savings Bank Bill 2023, which operated through post offices, separately from the Australian Postal Corporation. … Read More
10 Feb 2023 – Nilsson Jones The Courier Mail – FULL LIST: Inquiry Committee urges banks to pause regional branch closures
A Queensland MP is urging regional Australians to abandon big banks who shut down local branches ahead of a Senate inquiry as we reveal almost 100 branches that have closed in recent months. … Read On (Note: article is behind paywall)
9 Feb 2023 – Sarah Sharples news.com.au – Horror reality of bank branch closures across Australia
More and more Aussie towns now have no bank, and it’s causing huge issues for thousands of Australians. … Read On
9 Feb 2023 – 2GB/4BC Radio – Banks abandoning the regions – Jessica Clancy interview with Robert Barwick (Australian Citizens Party)
9 Feb 2023 – 2GB Radio – Chris O’Keefe interviews Sen Gerard Rennick and Julia Angrisano (National Secretary, Finance Sector Union) [Starts at 43:13]
9 Feb 2023 – 2GB Radio – Deborah Knight interview with Anna Bligh (Australian Banking Association)
7 Feb 2023 – Junee Shire Media Release – Proposed Closure of Commonwealth Bank
The Junee Community continues its fight against the Commonwealth Bank decision to close it Branch in Junee on 3 March 2023. Junee Shire Council will continue to advocate on behalf of the community for this decision to be overturned and has written to Federal Parliamentarians requesting action. Read the open letter PDF here.
Junee Shire Council is calling for the consideration of a Parliamentary Inquiry into Bank service levels in rural, regional, and remote Australia, together with the immediate suspension on all listed Bank Branch closures at the February 2023 Parliamentary sitting. … Read Media Release
5 Feb 2023 – About Regional – Big Four ‘abandoning rural towns’: Junee fights back as town loses only bank
Junee Shire Council is fighting back against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) decision to close the last remaining financial institution in its town. … Read On
5 Feb 2023 – Sunraysia Daily – Robinvale loses another bank
ROBINVALE is set to lose another bank after Westpac announced its closure, only two months after ANZ said it would be shutting its outlet. Robinvale will be left with only a Commonwealth Bank branch when Westpac closes on May 12 and ANZ goes on May 18. … Read On (Note: article is behind paywall)
4 Feb 2023 – The Adveriser (Adelaide) – Coober Pedy’s ATMs run out of cash – and its only bank is about to
Coober Pedy was left without cash when its ATMs ran dry this week. And locals fear its going to get worse when its only bank closes within weeks. … Read On (Note: article is behind paywall)
3 Feb 2023 – 7NEWS Cairns – Twitter News Clip
The Katter’s Australian Party has slammed a decision by Westpac to shut three of its North Queensland branches. … Watch on Twitter
3 Feb 2023 – Townsville Bulletin – Westpac Ingham, Tully, Cloncurry branches to close in latest bank to close in rural North Queensland
Banking giant Westpac has “abandoned” regional Queensland after the shock closure of a key rural branch, Katter’s Australia Party says.
“As unfortunate as this latest announcement is, it adds more credibility to the KAP’s argument to introduce a people’s bank to take up the void left in the regions.” … Read On (Note: article is behind paywall)
1 Feb 2023 – Yahoo Finance AU – CBA closing last branch in small town but residents are fighting back
The town of Junee will lose its only bank when Commonwealth Bank closes its doors in March. … Read On
31 Jan 2023 – WIN News Riverina – VIDEO – Junee could lose its only bank
Business owners and council are calling for a moratorium on bank closures and a parliamentary inquiry into whether the banks’ self-regulation is in the best interest of communities. … Watch Now
31 Jan 2023 – Ch.9 TODAY SHOW – VIDEO – Small town’s only bank set to close its doors for good
Thousands of residents in a regional NSW community could soon be left with no bank branch in town with the last Commonwealth Bank set to close its doors for good in March. … Watch Video
31 Jan 2023 – Stephanie Gardiner The North West Star/AAP – Towns putting up a fight as banks close
The Riverina town of 6500 is locked in a David and Goliath fight with the Commonwealth Bank, which announced it was closing Junee’s last bank in September. … Read On
28 Jan 2023 – New Norfolk and Derwent Valley News – Push for public post office bank goes to council meeting
AUSTRALIAN towns were facing a banking crisis and the Derwent Valley Council should back the call for a post office bank, last month’s council annual general meeting heard. … Read On
25 January 2023 – Branch Closures – All the banks are in on it!
Questions from Michael Sanderson to the Annual General Meetings of the NAB, ANZ and Westpac banks.
Watch as the heads of these banks provide the same general answers to why they are closing a record number of branches across rural and metropolitan Australia without addressing the real consequences to the members of those communities, such as lowered quality of service, access to cash, economic and commercial non-viability, vulnerability to digital scammers, exploitation of Australia Post, etc.
10 Jan 2023 – Limestone Coast Today – The steady closure of banks and diminishing face-to-face branch services is the beginning of the end?
Bank closures in country South Australia are heralding the inevitable – no branches within the next decade, Opposition leader David Speirs says. … Read On (Note: article is behind paywall)
5 Jan 2023 – Nassim Khadem ABC News – Australians are hoarding more banknotes but how far away is a cashless society in a digital world?
For many migrant communities across Australia, cash is still king. … Read On
3 Jan 2023 – The Weekly Times – Regional bank closures: Junee mounts a fight against CBA branch shutting
Junee is rallying other towns to join in the fight against rural bank closures after securing a three-month stay of execution for its last remaining bank. … Read On (Note: article is behind paywall)
3 Jan 2023 – Junee Shire Media Release – Proposed Closure of Commonwealth Bank
The Junee Shire Council Mayor Neil Smith said the bank closure was pushed back to March 3, after they found CBA did not give the appropriate amount of notice. … Read On
28 Dec 2022 – The Weekly Times – Bush banks closing at alarming pace
Rural bank closures have accelerated in the past three months, independent research has found. … Read On (Note: article is behind paywall)
21 Dec 2022 – ABC Illawarra (Radio) – Interview with banking expert Martin North on the regional branch closures
This is a radio segment from ABC Illawarra where Martin North discussed the branch closure issue, his recent research, and why the big banks are putting up a digital smokescreen story to cover deep cost cutting, despite the focus on regional branch closures which will strangle local communities. Watch/Listen to Interview on YouTube
19 Dec 2022 – ABC 730 – VIDEO – Australian towns are fighting to hold on to their local bank branches
While growing numbers of Australians are doing their banking online, for many isolated regional communities, the local bank remains a vital service. … Watch Video
2 Dec 2022 – The Echo (Byron Bay) – Editorial – Wokie dokey
Last Thursday’s Council meeting was an example of when a good idea gets kiboshed because the people proposing the idea are considered crazy conspiracy theorists. … Read On
28 Nov 2022 – ABC North and West SA – Westpac closure leaves SA’s Coober Pedy ‘high and dry’ without a bank, with closest facility six hours away
The remote town of Coober Pedy, which relies on large amounts of cash for its opal mining and tourism industry, is set to lose its only bank next year. …Read On
14 Oct 2022 – The Daily Advertiser – Councillor Richard Foley to propose council support plans for government-owned bank at council meeting
A Wagga councillor is calling for a public bank to be established by the federal government in response to unrelenting regional bank branch closures. … Read On (Note: article is behind paywall)
3 Sept 2022 – The Canberra Times – Momentum gathering for post office bank in wake of the Banking Royal Commission
In highly corporatised Japan, an odd and unusual phenomenon exists within its finance sector. It’s called the Japan Post Bank; a government-run banking system based within the country’s 24,000 post offices and for over 147 years, one of the largest, most stable and respected financial institutions in the world. … Read On (Note: article is behind paywall)
What you can do
This grassroots campaign is absolutely a fight we can win, not least because a postal bank is already a popular idea in Australia.
In Parliament it is supported by Katter’s Australian Party (KAP), Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (PHON), the Greens, and likely the National Party (at least most Nationals). Prominent members of both the Labor and Liberal parties also support the policy. The post office unions, including the Communications Workers Union (CWU) and its parent the Communications, Electrical, and Plumbers Union (CEPU), support a postal bank, as do the LPOs represented by the Licensed Post Office Group. See further information for more details of this support.
The goal of this campaign is to unite the existing support, and recruit more support, around the Commonwealth Postal Savings Bank Bill, to make this a front-line political issue and get the bill passed. It is up to the citizens of Australia to spread the word and build the support. This is how you can help:
1. Get this information into your community. Click on the image to Download PDF for printing or attaching to email.
Call 1800 636 432 if you would like to order physical copies and have them sent to you.
Some suggested places you can take one the information:
- Local post offices
- Local Federal and State Members of Parliament
- Local Councils and Chambers of Commerce
- Union representatives
- Community leaders, clubs and organisations
- Local businesses, especially those operating in shopping strips or immediate proximity to their local post office or in areas that have lost their local bank/s
- Anyone who values and relies on their local post office, especially their banking services.
2. Contact Elected Representatives
- Call and email your Federal MP and Senators. You can find their contacts details from the Parliament website. Tell them to support Bob Katter’s bill for a public pos office bank.
- Ask local representatives and organisations to endorse the Commonwealth Postal Savings Bank Bill by passing a motion/resolution similar to the ones discussed in Recruit your community—Local Government Resolutions.
3. Sign and share petition: An Australia Post ‘people’s bank’—a win-win solution for the nation
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