Compiled by Alistair Gray
The 13th and final senate hearing into bank closures in regional Australia was held on Tuesday April 16, 2024 with Bribie Island Bowls Club general manager Kevin Birtwistle and John Oxenford, in his private capacity, invited to make submissions. I am sure there is a lot of interest in what was said and I have included some edited extracts of their opening statements from Hansard below.
Kevin Birtwistle: I have been the general manager at the club for the last 10 years, since 2014. I noticed the change in the distribution of cash versus EFTPOS. In 2014, we were probably 80% cash. As of April 1, we're at 39% cash. Whether that's a result of availability of cash, because I know there have been quite a number of branches and building societies that have closed on the Island or whether people are more accepting of the process of EFTPOS and that sort of thing—anecdotally, a lot of members and even staff don't have a local branch anymore. I can't go to the ANZ because it's not there. It's a bit of a problem, I'd say.
John Oxenford: I'm a retired engineer, born and raised in rural Queensland. My wife and I decided to come back to Australia in 2006 and retire on Bribie after nearly 30 years in Canada. The issues we're dealing with here on Bribie Island are many of the same issues this inquiry will have heard about in rural Australia. The mean age of residents here on Bribie Island—our postcode is 4507—is 62. It's the highest average age of any postcode in Queensland and it's the second highest of any postcode in Australia. Around 16% of Bribie's residents are over 75, requiring them to obtain a medical clearance every year to continue driving. And public transport on Bribie serves little or no useful purpose. According to elections Queensland, only about 2.3% of journeys on Bribie Island are taken on public transport.
Those people above the mean age will have all but completed their education prior to the invention of the computer chip, so, not surprisingly, many of those people have limited computer skills and many don't even have access to a computer. So, here on Bribie, we have this community with a significant portion of the population having limited mobility and limited computer skills however despite that, we see the banking services offered to this community being reduced and members being forced to find alternatives. Those alternatives include using a credit card for transactions. But, if you talk to the carers here on Bribie Island, many of those people don't even have a credit card. Residents can get cash out at the supermarket, but that's under scrutiny or they can pay a fee and use the post office or a private ATM. They could get a carer or a relative to do their banking or in many cases, they choose to leave Bribie. In some ways, we're still fortunate on Bribie. Although three major banks have left Bribie, we still have a number of banks here, along with a number of bank ATMs, but the services offered in those remaining banks and ATMs are being curtailed.
Bribie islanders are forced more and more to go online to do their banking. Despite this decline in banking services on Bribie, our situation is nowhere near dire as it is in rural Queensland, which I'm sure you have heard about. Last week, my wife and I rode along the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail, which has become a significant tourist attraction. This is the longest rail trail in Australia, stretching for about 140 kilometres from Yarraman to Ipswich. There are no banks in any of those communities along that way, despite these being significant tourist places and there are no bank ATMs.
In my hometown of Esk, there's a private ATM and the IGA, therefore the only way residents can obtain cash is via cash out at the IGA or paying a fee to use a private ATM or the services of the post office. If someone wants to deposit a cheque in Esk, they have to travel over 50 kilometres to Woodford or to Ipswich to the nearest bank that will offer that service.
I just fear that this is the future for Bribie. Since we arrived on Bribie in 2006, three of the major banks have left the Island and the services provided by those that remain have been greatly downgraded. When we came back from Canada, having sold our house and property in Canada, we moved those funds to Australia and purchased a property here. The bank staff were most helpful in setting us up with appropriate accounts, transferring funds from Canada, helping us with progressive payments as we purchased a property and so forth. They helped to arrange finance and insurance for our new house and finance and insurance for a new car. They helped our two daughters with financing and insurance arrangements for the cars that they bought. But none of those services are available today.
My bank has closed with the nearest branch 40km away in Caboolture. I went there in December to get a bank cheque to accompany a government application, but I have since been advised that I can no longer even get a bank cheque at my bank. What sort of nonsense is that? How on earth can we have a bank that doesn't even issue bank cheques? I don't pretend to know how we might solve these challenges; that's up to you folk to try and do.
What I do know is that our banks enjoy a privileged position in Australia and are shielded in many ways from foreign competition. They are supposed to provide a public service in return for that privilege and while the downgrading and withdrawal of services by the banks might help their bottom line, we do not see those savings being passed on in better returns of funds lodged with the bank or streamlined approvals. It's not even passed on in terms of employment and I've given up many times trying to use the bank's help desk. I have to go around the world to find the right category, wait forever to speak to somebody and give up because I can't understand that person's accent because that help desk is offshore.
There followed several detailed questions by the senators to give clarity and perspective to their submissions. Congratulations must go to Kevin and John for representing our community so well. Thanks guys for a job well done.
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