Latest news with #Cunderdin
ABC News
4 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Regional communities look for banking solutions as major banks leave town
Since Bendigo Bank announced it will be closing 28 agency services across the country, residents in the small town of Cunderdin, 160 kilometres east of Perth, face the prospect of a 120km round trip for some banking services. Bendigo Bank's decision has left Cunderdin Shire president Alison Harris "hugely concerned and deeply disappointed". The agency was run out of the town's co-op service and was set up after Westpac left town. Cr Harris said many people transferred to Bendigo Bank at the time and now faced the prospect of having to transfer again. "A bit like doctors and grocery shops, the bank is vital in a small community," she said. In a statement, Bendigo Bank said it would shut down its agency model across 28 locations by October, citing "decreasing customer use". The bank's service in Cunderdin provided the community with cash, floats for the footy, and other general banking. Residents' closest branch will now be either the town of York or Northam — a nearly two-hour round trip. Bendigo Bank said customers would be connected with their closest alternate service. Cr Harris said the decision to shut the Bendigo Bank agency would have ripple effects despite the town being able to access post office banking services. "And once people do travel out of town, they may shop out of town, they may go to the doctor out of town," she said. Cr Harris said that while some physical locations might be unprofitable for banks, she was concerned about elderly residents who lacked the digital know-how to conduct their banking online. It is a problem the founders of the Indigenous-owned Traditional Credit Union (TCU) encountered 30 years ago in the Northern Territory as the big banks started to leave. "If you go into any community that has lost a bank, they will tell you exactly how devastating it is," TCU CEO Simon Lyons said. The credit union was formed on the island of Milingimbi after remote communities in the Top End had no access to banking facilities. "Big banks have got shareholders and they've got to answer to them," he said. "It's costly to operate in remote communities. "It's very difficult, particularly up here in the Northern Territory, where a number of these communities are cut off in the wet season and access to them is limited quite often to fly-in." Mr Lyons said communities suffered when banks pulled out, and getting cash into those areas could become difficult for local businesses and groups. "It sounds like a minor thing, but it is actually a major thing, along with the ability to actually go and talk to someone." Mr Lyons said services, such as opening or cancelling accounts or handing deceased estates, could only happen in branches, and closing locations could impact local jobs. He said the community banking model worked, but also needed support. "We're the smallest bank in the country, but we're regulated in exactly the same way as a Commonwealth Bank or a National Australia Bank," he said. "That regulation and compliance with that regulation come at a cost, and it isn't proportional." Mr Lyons said smaller banks like TCU had the same regulatory requirements and the same cost impost without the same revenue flows and profit. In February this year, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced a moratorium on regional banking closures from the big four banks until July 2027. Banks were also asked to increase their "commitment to and investment in regional banking", with Bank@Post, that is banking at a post office, being one of the preferred options. "Communities, despite their remoteness or the fact that they are regional, shouldn't be deprived of that." One solution that border communities in Victoria and New South Wales have adopted is the partnership between smaller banks and councils. Hume Bank has partnered with Hume Council since 2005 and runs a branch inside the council office in Holbrook, New South Wales. Hume Bank's CEO, Stephen Capello, said residents in Holbrook would have to drive 45 minutes to the next town after the last bank closed down. He said while customer behaviour was evolving, regional communities were seeking "equitable banking services" alongside their metro counterparts. "[There is a] strong belief that these services are required to underwrite the future of these small towns," he said. "I think regional Australia needs a socially responsible banking industry, and that needs to reflect some of the heavy lifting that small regional banks and community and customer banks are doing at the moment." In a statement, the Finance Sector Union said it had "deep concerns" about banks "unilaterally" making significant cuts to their service and regional communities. The union said it was continuing to pressure the federal government on the issue of regional banking. The union's assistant national secretary, Nicole McPherson, said it had been 14 months since a Senate inquiry handed down a report calling for banking to be regulated as an essential service. "It is critical that the federal government step in and protect bank workers and customers, given that the banks have proven themselves to be incapable of doing anything other than putting profits and shareholders first," she said. The Australian Banking Association declined to comment.
ABC News
02-07-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
As winter rain batters some parts of WA, some farms remain parched and 'desperate'
The first month of winter has come and gone, delivering above average rainfall to parts of WA, while leaving some inland farming areas parched and desperate. For Cunderdin farmer Holly Godfrey, it has been a disappointing start to the season. "I think for the year to date, we've had around 50 millimetres, so we're really, really needing a bit of rain," Ms Godfrey said. "The crops are probably a little bit smaller than we'd hoped for at this stage." Patchy germination has made things worse, particularly for her canola. "I just looked at some photos of canola this time last year and it was far more advanced than it is this year." Despite the dry start and grim outlook, Ms Godfrey remains hopeful. "We're in a pretty reliable area here in Cunderdin, so I think the rain will come eventually," she said. Last month, four cold fronts swept over the south west of WA, bringing bursts of cold and wet weather to large parts. The South West district received the bulk of it, with some towns recording higher than average rainfall totals for June. Witchcliffe West topped the charts with 277.8mm, followed by Jarrahwood which picked up more than 200mm and Bunbury at 190mm. The heavy rain extended up the west coast, with Geraldton Airport collecting a decent 135mm. Perth also got a good dose of rainfall across June, but due to the metro rain gauge suffering technical difficulties, the closest estimate to the city's monthly total would be Perth Airport's 153.8mm. But due to those cold fronts weakening quickly and a lack of support from north-west cloud bands, areas further inland that were desperate for a drink missed out. Across the Wheatbelt and Great Southern, most places only received about 50 to 60 per cent of their normal June rainfall. Cunderdin Airport received 26.8mm while York picked up just over 21mm. Ms Godfrey said that was not nearly enough to set crops up for a successful season. "There's a bit of moisture in the ground now which is helping but it just means that the crops are pretty late this year, and the season will probably be a shorter growing season unfortunately," she said. "I think we would have hoped to have had a good 100mm by now, but another 50 to 100mm in the next month would be great." But not all farmers were in the same boat. At Tenterden, 328 kilometres south-east of Perth, Michael Webster's seeding program was progressing well due to early rains and good soil moisture. "We've had a great start to our season so far," he said. "We have had 234mm since January with 64mm over June — so it's still got a way to go, but very, very grateful for what we've had so far." Mr Webster said this season was already tracking better than last. "The canola is particularly good, growth rates have been pretty phenomenal," he said. But he knows other farmers haven't been as fortunate. "You don't have to drive too far for guys who have missed out on a lot of the April, May or June rain," Mr Webster said. "We're in a little bit of a bubble here but it's definitely a different story for a lot of people." York-based agronomist Michael Lamond agreed the season had started well for southern WA, but said crucial follow-up rain had instead been falling further north. "It's only been just enough to keep things ticking over and so we're sort of in quite a desperate need of rain now," he said. "It's also been a very cold winter so far, so the crops have sort of really hit the brakes and they've slowed down, and they're sort of saying look we need a drink." WA's grain growers delivered their third-largest harvest on record last year, following record-breaking seasons in 2021 and 2022. Mr Lamond, who authors the Grain Industry Association of WA's crop report, said for most farmers this season was shaping out to mirror 2023, a colder season that produced only 14.5 million tonnes. "There was that optimism at the start, and now everyone's wondering how things are going to go from now on," he said. "If we don't get rain soon, like essentially next week or the week after, we'll run out of time for the crops to finish in the spring when the heat comes so I'd say it's becoming quite desperate." While a cold front overnight and another on Sunday are expected to deliver some light falls to agricultural areas, the Bureau of Meteorology's forecast shows it won't be answering any prayers. "The fronts are more likely to bring around 10-20mm instead of those upper end type rainfall figures," senior meteorologist Joey Rawson said. The bureau's July outlook suggests farmers may have to wait a little longer. "We can expect less rainfall and warmer conditions than normal," Dr Rawson said. "But hopefully when we get to August, things will turn around, and we'll start seeing wetter conditions, and also more normal temperatures."
