Newsroom

May 1, 2024

KATTER’S Australian Party MP Bob Katter has cautiously welcomed a major bank’s latest announcement toward ensuring services remain operational in rural and regional Australia.

On Tuesday, Westpac told Mr Katter it was extending its moratorium on regional branch closures until at least 2027, about one year after the North Queensland MP successfully pressured the bank to reverse a decision to close branches in the Kennedy electorate.

Last year, Westpac had slated its Cloncurry, Ingham and Tully branches for closure, but following strong community resistance, it negotiated with Mr Katter to initially “pause” the closures, before later announcing the three branches would remain open.

Mr Katter thanked his fellow KAP MPs for Hinchinbrook, Hill and Traeger whose communities were all set to be affected by the closures, for their strong representations in keeping the branches open.

Mr Katter said he thanked Westpac for listening and negotiating in good faith, and hoped other major banks would take note.

“Without banking there is no economy – you don’t have a local bank, you don’t have a local economy,” Mr Katter said.

“North Queensland is the heart of the Queensland economy, it’s where all the wealth is generated to service and pay for our schools, hospitals, transport. And we need our governments, but also the major banks recognising this, they cannot be abandoning rural and regional Queensland.

“Banks create money and wealth providing an essential service, and if private corporations want to restrict the growth of regional Queensland, then we’ll establish our own people’s bank.

“The banks have no legal obligation to lend to rural, regional, and remote communities and in many cases they don’t, or they apply far more stringent lending criteria than they do in the cities, and that’s why we’re calling for a state-owned people’s bank to facilitate economic prosperity and rural and regional growth,” he said.

“A bit like our governments, the banks often don’t tend to see the ‘value’ of areas located out of the major city radius.”