Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again, we have seen the big banks treat regional communities with absolute contempt. The Commonwealth Bank is closing its branch in Woodend plus the ATM but it did not have the decency to talk to the community and find out what our needs are. Older people and small-business owners who need to get change and pay bills can't do this in regional communities because of what has been happening in the banking sector.

The Commonwealth Bank made $8 billion in profit last year. You would think that, if you could do that, you could keep some bank branches open in communities where there is no public transport instead of expecting disabled people, elderly people and business people to travel 20 or 30 kilometres to get to the nearest branch. It's appalling that they have done this with no consultation and no input from anyone in the community.

Of course, the bank came out and said: 'It's okay. You can go to the post office and do all your bill paying there.' Our postal staff are already under stress because of the workload they are getting. The previous government tried to put Centrelink in there as well to make their jobs even harder. But the fact of the matter is that not everybody is capable of using electronic banking. The bank said, 'We have had a decrease in foot traffic over the last two years.' Yes, they have. The pandemic has caused that. Lockdowns have caused that. That is no reason to shut this branch. There is no reason that the Commonwealth Bank can't pause disclosure, speak to the community and come to a arrangement that suits everyone. So I have called on the Commonwealth Bank to pause this immediately and reverse these decisions to cut branches in regional towns.