Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm really pleased to be able to speak on this motion regarding the use of cash, because one of the things that I heard very loudly and clearly from the residents of Five Dock when I doorknocked them about a year ago was how disappointed they were that the Commonwealth Bank branch in Five Dock had been closed. They were disappointed that they weren't going to be able to get their banking services and weren't going to be able to get access to cash through ATMs, and there was real concern in the community. At the time, I wrote to the Commonwealth Bank and conveyed the concerns of the residents. Unfortunately, the bank said they would not be reinstating the branch but that many of the services were going to be available through Australia Post. I think this is part of steps the Commonwealth Bank is taking to close down some of these branches, which I think is really disappointing.

One of the things they failed to do, however, was to provide an ATM in the local community that could service people who need to get access to cash. After much campaigning from the local community, we recently were able to get an ATM reinstated in Five Dock. I thought at the time that it was going to be well received, but I didn't realise how well received. Again, I went gone doorknocking in Five Dock, and I happened to doorknock the friendliest street in Five Dock. All the residents were out on Tony's porch on the day that I went, chatting to each other. One of the things raised was the fact that an ATM had been reinstated in Five Dock. Tony, who is in his late 80s, was particularly keen, because he had become reliant on his wonderful neighbour, Jayten, in his 30s, to help him with online banking and was having to do much of the payments online. But what Tony really wanted to be able to do was access cash. So, I was really happy to meet with these residents and celebrate the reinstatement of the ATM in Five Dock.

I think that small story about the residents of Five Dock indicates how important cash is for many people in our community. Whilst of course we are moving to more digital payments and online purchasing, for many in the community cash is still critical for their purchases of essential items. So I'm very pleased that the government has now said that they will be mandating cash for essential items while making sure there are appropriate exemptions for small businesses. It is key that people like Tony and his mates in Five Dock can still purchase things with cash, especially essential items. And as we move towards more online and digital payment systems, one of the things that is really important is to ensure that there is a mechanism for people to pay for things without it attracting a fee.

I'm really pleased to be able to join my colleague Jerome Laxale, the member for Bennelong, in pushing a campaign to ensure that there is some form of payment—digital and online—that does not attract a fee. We're not talking about a couple of cents on your coffee in the morning; we are talking about extra dollars when you go to pay for your car registration or to buy a laptop for the kids. It adds up. These fees add up. There has to be some form of payment that does not attract a fee.

I'm pleased that the RBA is doing an inquiry into these payments to see whether or not there needs to be a fee-free, digital and online payment, and I know that the government has said that if the RBA are willing to go down this path, we would also be supporting that with legislation. This is important reform that is happening, because we need to be able to pay for things without there being a fee or being really hard to do so by paying for it with cash. Added to that, there is some reform that's happening within the New South Wales government to ensure that renters who have to pay their rent through an online mechanism are also not forced to pay an additional fee on top of that. This is a really sensible step. It's about ensuring that cash remains in our economy and that there are better and easier forms of payment.

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