Westpac proudly announce on their website that “We support the need for a First Nations voice enshrined in the Australian Constitution.”
It is not clear how much Westpac spent on its flashy Reconciliation Action Plan but it is probably a lot less than they have been spending on keeping branches open in Aboriginal communities.
So while Sydney based Westpac executives pat themselves on the back for the virtuous support of the Voice, they at the same time announced the closure of the Westpac bank branch in Moree, a country town with a large Aboriginal population.
The ascension of the woke agenda has been a boon for heartless corporations. No longer must executives do anything practically useful to earn accolades, woke points can be earned by just expressing support for the latest left-wing fad.
A future without financial services is not just facing Moree. Since September last year 92 bank branches in country towns have shut or are facing closure. The upsurge in such closures spurred Senator Gerard Rennick to successfully push for a Senate inquiry into the issue.
The Senate committee has immediately called on all banks to pause the closure of more branches while regional communities can have their voice heard. If the banks truly support the Voice the least they could do is listen to rural voices before the rip out services.
Thankfully, the Commonwealth Bank has listened and announced that it will not close the branches it was going to in Junee (NSW) and Bright (Victoria) while the Senate inquiry is ongoing.
Westpac is closing branches in Ingham, Tully, Cloncurry and Gatton. ANZ has closed branches in Middlemount and Springsure. What is gobsmacking about these closures is that these regional towns are booming. Just as they have some sunshine on the horizon, major banks are busy gathering storm clouds.
As the Mayor of Cloncurry, Greg Campbell, has said “Cloncurry is bucking the trends of most regional communities, with a population that is growing rapidly … Our greatest fear is that this decision will give other vital services the precedent to withdraw more services from Cloncurry and regional Queensland.”
The local State MP for Gatton has said that “Gatton has struggled to attract new businesses for many years, however, in the last 8 months a number of new businesses have opened, including a pet franchise, Mitre 10, hairdressers and health services … The Westpac bank holds a significant place in the central business district of Gatton and will leave a very large hole in the landscape.”
It is no doubt that fewer people are going into banks and it is becoming harder to commercially keep branches open. What frustrates me is that these closures are happening by distant overlords who have no local understanding about the impact of their decisions.
I spoke to one bank this week who is looking at keeping a country branch open by reducing opening hours and then having staff work (remotely) in their call centre for the other times of the day.
These are the sort of solutions we will focus on in our Senate inquiry. If the Banks are serious about the voice they will listen.
