Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prime Minister, banks in Australia's towns are closing. Treasurers Keating, Hockey and Swan averred the majors will always be underwritten by government. Will you support North Queensland's industrial leadership in proposing a North Queensland postal bank, initiated by the KAP?

I note the curious inconsistency of two Liberal senators, who, in power, sacked Holgate, the person actually creating a people's bank. Out of power, the two want to 'look into it'! Churchill observed: 'Looking into it, you'll only see yourself. How extraordinarily narcissistic!'

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There was definitely a question in there. I'm not sure about the end of the statement. But I give the call to the Prime Minister.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kennedy, not just for the question but for his genuine commitment on these issues of services for people in his electorate. Of course, bank closures in regional communities is a very real issue out there, and I can inform the member that the Treasurer met the chair of the ACCC just today, on this issue. Indeed, as well, we look forward to the findings of the report from the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee's inquiry into bank closures outside of metropolitan areas.

The member raises the issue of Australia Post, and that is certainly one of the options which is there. Aussie post already plays a big role. In the 2022 financial year, they processed around 14½ million transactions, with over 3½ thousand post offices currently providing banking services across the country.

I know that this was an issue that Christine Holgate—who was mentioned in the question and I think a fine person—was advancing, before the former government took action on the floor of this chamber to remove her, in part, of course, challenged by the inconsistency of the members that you raise. One thing about the member for Kennedy, whether you agree with all of his views or not—and on some of his views I agree and on some I do not—is that he's fair dinkum, unlike the great pretenders he refers to, the LNP senators out there who've discovered this issue. After 10 years of government and doing nothing about it, they have discovered it. One of them, of course, is famous for wearing hi-vis in his backyard for media conferences and doing something that no coalminer would do, which is to smear coaldust on his face for the photo op. The member for Kennedy is fair dinkum, unlike the pretenders over there in the Senate, who pretend they care about regional Australia but never actually stand up for it.