Because Westpac lied to the Senate enquiry into regional bank closures back in February, the residents of Coober Pedy in remote South Australia are stuck in a financial “nightmare”.

Senior 9News.com.au journalist Emily McPherson has documented their nightmare in a very important October 27 article titled “Coober Pedy’s last bank closed eight months ago. Here’s what happened next”. 

The residents revealed:

• They avoid going to the bank because the closest bank is now 540 km away in Port Augusta.
• Coober Pedy’s opal tourism economy is heavily cash-dependent, but taking cash to Port Augusta “is a safety issue”—with no mobile coverage for two-and-a-half hours of the trip, businesses fear they are a “target” for criminals who assume cars driving from Coober Pedy to Port Augusta are carrying cash.
• The few ATMs in town always run out of money because the businesses that operate them can’t get enough cash—petrol station and restaurant owner Chris Pantelis said he previously withdrew $50,000–$70,000 from the bank to restock his ATM, but now he can only restock it from his own cash takings.
• Only Bank@Post provides banking services in Coober Pedy, but customers can’t open bank accounts at the post office, and it limits withdrawals to $2,000 and deposits to $7,000, woefully inadequate for a town regularly visited by opal buyers carrying half a million dollars in cash.
• Michael Edgecomb, from community group Coober Pedy Together, noted the local Aboriginal population and others “rely on being able to open accounts, get replacement cards and check identities—which you can’t do at the post office”, so “community services are having to do a lot more work to help people prove identity so they can access cash, and it’s really tricky”.

Deception

Coober Pedy is only enduring this nightmare because of Westpac’s deliberate deception back in February, when the Senate established the current enquiry into bank closures in regional Australia.

On February 10, Enquiry Chair Senator Matt Canavan and the entire Senate committee wrote to the banks, asking them to pause any more branch closures until the enquiry concluded.

The same day, Westpac replied: “In response to the Committee’s request, Westpac will postpone eight regional branch closures that were announced in February 2023. No further decisions on regional branch closures will be made while we engage with the enquiry.”

Politicians and the media praised Westpac for this announcement.

However, in that letter, Westpac deliberately omitted to mention seven other Westpac branches slated to close, which also should have been paused, including Coober Pedy seven days later and Carnamah in WA 14 days later. Westpac was the last bank in both towns.

On February 17, independent journalist Dale Webster excoriated Westpac’s “stunning PR subterfuge” in an article in The Regional titled “Westpac’s deception by omission will not be forgotten”:

In May, under the pressure of scrutiny from the enquiry, Westpac reversed the closures of the eight paused branches, saying it would keep them open permanently.

If Westpac had not deceived the Committee about the seven other branches, Westpac would have had to include them in its reversal decision, and the townspeople of Coober Pedy would not be living their nightmare.

Australian Citizens Party Research Director Robert Barwick said: “Coober Pedy only ever had one bank, Westpac. Its economy didn’t change; Westpac did—into a digital model that doesn’t serve customers.

“The government should establish a full public postal bank to serve these towns and take customers away from the banks that don’t want to provide a service anymore.”

Justin Lance Marcel Lavadia

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Justin Lavadia is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum with a diverse writing background spanning various niches and formats. With a wealth of experience, he brings clarity and concise communication to digital content. His expertise lies in crafting engaging content and delivering impactful narratives that resonate with readers.

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