Regional Australians speak out against bank closures, as inquiry extended

Residents of Junee and nearby towns in NSW have voiced outrage at the closure of bank branches in regional Australia, as senators extended an inquiry to hear from people in every state.

Residents of Junee and nearby towns in NSW have voiced outrage at the aggressive closure of bank branches in regional Australia, as senators extended an inquiry to hear from people in every state.

A Senate inquiry, chaired by Queensland Liberal Matthew Canavan, is examining the impact of bank closures on regional Australia, after banks closed up to 100 regional branches in the final quarter of 2022.

“The Commonwealth Bank would have closed their branch in Junee by now if it was not for this inquiry,” James Davis, the general manager of the Junee Shire Council, told the hearing on Thursday.

“The Junee community and many others like it will rely on the outcome of this inquiry for the necessary structural change to banking services through government regulation.

“Without intervention, rural Australia will ultimately be without the necessary banking services to meet the expectations that government and rural communities aspire to.”

Senator Matt Canavan. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

In the previous day in Canberra, about 138km southeast of Junee, the CEOs of Australia‘s four largest banks urged politicians not to force them to keep a significant share of their branches open in regional areas.

They said branches were being closed because most Australians were embracing technology and expected banks to provide fast digital services. Fewer people were using branches and cash, making it unsustainable to maintain a presence across the vast country. But community members said the most disadvantaged people, including the aged and those less educated who still need access to cash and in person banking services, were the most impacted by the closures.

Rachel Whiting addresses the Senate committee in Junee.

Residents spoke about their reluctance to bank online due to fears of being victims of scams, their attempts at banking digitally with a hand that has “osteoarthritis”, and the inability of hearing-impaired customers that can’t “lip read” over a device.

“Many people in regional Australia, particularly our elderly, are disadopters of digital technology. They will get to a stage in life … where they just don’t feel they can continue to lean with the changes,” said Rachel Whiting, chief executive of Regional Development Australia in the Riverina region.

“Anybody that has a phone these days will know that things are changing constantly with the way they have to use their digital technology, and if you do not keep up with it you will fall behind.”

Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee, in Junee.

At the hearing, Senator Canavan said the inquiry would be extended until May next year, as the committee wanted to hear from community members of every state and were now planning hearings in the 2024.

Commonwealth Bank’s Junee manager North Swift announced the branch would extend its opening hours to five half days, up from three, “as soon as we can get people in the roles”.

The announcement was received with visible excitement from some in the audience.

He asked members to consider moving their business to the CBA, in line with comments from his boss Matt Comyn the previous day, who told the hearing the bank had decided to halt branch closures for three years in part to scoop up customers in regional Australia.

Marnie Wishart, a local small business owner who relies on CBA’s quick deposits bags to deposit cash and cheques into her account, said the bank had first supplied the service for free, before upping the price to $1 a bag, then $3, and will hike that to $10 per bag from October 1. “That equates to $1040 for a year if I bank twice a week.”