David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

According to CHOICE, 65 per cent of Australians still carry cash. It's an everyday support for people in regional areas, for older Australians and for people with a disability. This cash mandate that's up for disallowance, as has been discussed, declares that only large supermarkets and petrol stations are essential. That doesn't cut it. The power of the Senate is to disallow this and send the government back to the drawing board to ensure that the people who currently still want to use cash, still need to use cash, can do that.

Why does the government and now the coalition through their vote—they may say otherwise, but, in not actually sending the government back to the drawing board, they are essentially saying one thing and doing something very different. Why don't they think medication and medical supplies are essential? Public transport—not essential. Utilities—not essential, according to them. Children's clothes—not essential. If you are in the ACT, you can't go to Access Canberra and pay with cash. That just seems totally ridiculous to me. If you are living on the street and need to get an ID or do anything at Access Canberra and don't have a bank card, what are you meant to do? We can say: 'Oh well, it sucks to be you. It's a cashless society.' That does not cut it. We have to actually ensure that we're looking after people who currently use cash, want to use cash or do not have the ability to tap and go like everyone in this place, I'm sure, does.

When you look at this mandate and the impact that it has on regional communities and First Nations communities, you have to say it has a disproportionate effect. We've seen in the other place the member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, talk a lot about the need to protect the ability to use cash. Along the 1,200-kilometre stretch of the Sturt Highway in the NT, as I understand it—senators from the NT will be able to correct me here—there's only one large supermarket; otherwise, it's small grocers. So there's only one place along that 1,200-kilometre stretch that's mandated to take cash. Why do we not have a plan to protect access to cash?

Disallowing this forces the government to go back to the drawing board. It's amazing hearing from former Cabinet ministers arguing that that's not how things work and that, if you disallow this, nothing will ever replace these regulations. Everyone knows that isn't the case. Everyone knows that there have to be regulations in place. So let's do that as a Senate.

Since 2017, 2,000 bank branches have closed; more than 8,000 ATMs have disappeared. Yes, for many, using a card or using your phone is more convenient, but for many other Australians that simply isn't a possibility. I do thank Senator Roberts for bringing this forward. I think it's important that this Senate actually looks after the Australians who currently want to be able to use cash.