Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I rise in this grievance debate to raise an issue on behalf of one of my constituents and to also highlight the extent to which our banks are going to reduce cash in our society. In today's world, there's a lot of talk about modernising how we handle money, and that's great. Many of us in this place use apps, cards and the internet to pay for our bills. Even when you go shopping, you tap your phone and you pay for you bill, and that's great for us that are IT savvy or that don't have a necessity to use cash. When you're an individual, you don't have that necessity to use cash.

But recently I've been contacted by many constituents—and there's specifically one I'll talk about in a moment—who have small businesses that still need a cash flow. They still need to have $50 notes, $100 notes, $20 notes, $10 notes, $5 notes, 50c coins, 20c coins and 10c coins in their cash registers because people still go to small businesses and pay in cash. Cash isn't just old fashioned. It's still important for a lot of people, especially those in small business. When you think about small-business owners who want to make sure everyone can buy their product, they need to utilise every single facility that they have, including the internet, apps, pay-as-you-go with your phone, and EFTPOS cards.

Accepting cash means they're accessible to everyone, especially older Australians that still want to use cash, and many of them prefer using cash because it's familiar and it's easy. For them it's not just about convenience; it's about feeling secure as well, knowing that you have that cash in your pocket. That's the way that they've been brought up their entire lives, and they don't want to change. It is absolutely their right not to change the way they handle their money. So, while all of us in this place are for progress, let's not leave anyone behind. I really feel that, through the banking system, we're currently leaving some people behind, including our small businesses that still rely on cash because they have cash customers and a lot of our older constituents who rely on cash because they're not interested in doing things with cashless cards and tapping on phones et cetera.

I was recently contacted by Mary. She's the owner of a small Bakers Delight branch in one of the biggest malls in South Australia, the West Lakes mall. Her insight serves as a reminder of why maintaining cash as a viable option is essential. I'm confident that Bakers Delight holds a special place in all of our hearts. We all know Bakers Delight. I'm sure that each and everyone of us have many Bakers Delights and small businesses in our electorates. They're very hardworking small-business people that run these small businesses, and of course, as with any small business, managing cash flow is paramount. It is one of the most important issues that you have in a small business.

Mary informed me of the situation that her business has now found itself in, which for several reasons had me quite concerned, and I'm sure it'd have all of us concerned. Last year, her local ANZ branch within the West Lakes mall, where her Bakers Delight is, decided to stop over-the-counter cash deposits and cash withdrawals. This left her with no way to get change for her store to start the day. You need to have a cash register with change in it. The ANZ branch stopped giving out change and cash to their clients. Mary is their client. She pays fees. She pays interest rates. She pays a whole range of things.

While they could still deposit money using the business account deposit facility cash exchange, that was no longer an option. So when they tried to access the cash exchange facility at BankSA—there is a whole range of different banks within this mall, one of the largest malls in South Australia—they were told they would have to switch their account, which isn't easy when you have a small business. When they approached other banks, they were told they had to switch their accounts before they would give them the cash they needed to run their business. On top of all of this, Mary emailed me today with another update. She said that when she went to exchange cash on the weekend, as she does now regularly, at another ANZ branch, 6 to 7 kilometres away from where her business is, the only machine that she had to drive to was out of action. Not only was it out of action; she was informed that it would no longer be operating because they had stopped that one as well. She said that she was so frustrated to think that banks are literally forcing people away from cash.

When you look at the things that I've just outlined, there's no doubt that banks are forcing people out of cash. It's fine for others who can use their mobiles and their cards and the internet, but when you have a small business, you need to have a cash flow. It's becoming more and more difficult for these small businesses. She said that the banks no longer offer the service that banks were originally designed for. If I were a customer with a small business, I'd go to them in the morning or evening and deposit the cash turnover from the business and get a cash flow for the day. That's the normal practice. That is now stopping and becoming very rare around Australia, and it has become very hard for small businesses.

Mary said that she feels that the banks have lost their way. All the expenses of the community have helped them become so powerful in our community. In other words, when you look at banks, they're not actually offering their cash; they're offering our cash—it's the cash of small business, it's the cash of big business, and it's the cash of each and every one of us here in Australia. They have a responsibility to provide cash to small businesses and to their customers.

I can see how frustrating this is for Mary and for other business owners in my electorate. This isn't just a problem for them. Many businesses, not just within Westfield West Lakes but also across Australia, are struggling with cash shortages and accessing cash for their small businesses, causing inconvenience for both businesses and customers. In light of this, I reached out to the Assistant Treasurer, the member for Whitlam, to share Mary's story. I thought it was important that the minister was aware of this. I shared the story of Mary from Bakers Delight and highlighted the importance of maintaining accessible cash options for all Australians. I'm assured by the minister that the government is committed to maintaining adequate access to cash for all Australians.

The cash system provides resilience to the Australian payment system in times of natural disasters, crises and network outages. Recent internet outages have highlighted the importance of cash transactions. A few months ago, Optus wiped out every internet connection across the country. You can imagine that, if you're a small business and you're wiped out of any cash transaction through the internet for seven or eight hours, it could be devastating to your business. During this time, businesses could only accept cash, resulting in lost sales and additional costs. The nation's commerce came to a standstill on that day. We all remember it, as everyone awaited the restoration of payment systems. We all need to inform people who make decisions that this is a really important issue.

Banks have a responsibility to service the Australian public. We have four big banks that are very privileged to have a banking licence. That comes with a privilege. It is not there just for them to be able to interact ad hoc as they please within the community. They have a responsibility to look after their customers, to look after the people who put their money into that bank and to look after the customers who require cash to run their small businesses. Can you imagine how difficult it is for Mary and other constituents in my electorate who have been trying now for months to find a place where they can access cash very quickly in the morning or evening when they close their business? Not everyone uses the internet or a phone tap or a card. We need to ensure that banks are doing the right thing. I call on banks today, as many of my colleagues in this place on both sides would agree, to do the right thing and provide cash for small businesses.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:30