Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to inform the House today that thousands of small remittance companies are facing closure. One by one, Australian banks have closed the accounts needed to facilitate international transfers because of perceived risks under international and national counter-terrorism laws. Today the final one of the big four banks working with remitters, Westpac, is closing its accounts. Without government action, companies will no longer be able to operate from tomorrow. There are over 5½ thousand remittance service providers registered in Australia, employing thousands of people, who might be staring down the barrel of closure. Terrorism financing must of course be combated, but the current approach will harm families sending legitimate transfers of small sums of money to loved ones overseas. These closures will affect communities across Australia and their families around the world, but the effects will be particularly felt in Somalia as well as in Eritrea and elsewhere in East Africa. Because there is no formal banking system in these countries, there is simply no alternative for communities in Australia to the services of small remittance companies. If these accounts close, Australians will no longer be able to send money overseas from tomorrow. The social, humanitarian and security effects of this would be devastating. About 40 per cent of households in Somalia depend on remittances from overseas. In parliament today are representatives of the remittance sector. I have collected a community petition with over 5,000 signatures. We need action. I wrote to the finance minister about this over a month ago. The government is asleep at the wheel. Thousands of people are about to be hurt and businesses are about to close. (Time expired)