Mrs GASH(4.39 p.m.) —It was not long ago that banks were an important part of towns in rural and regional Australia. They provided communities with credit, access to financial advice and, above all, a place where residents could do the type of everyday banking that people in cities take for granted.

Country Australians honestly believed that, in return for the opportunity to do business with them, banks would recognise that they had responsibilities—that they would not up and leave simply because rural banks were not as profitable. How wrong we were.

The behaviour of major banks in rural Australia has been nothing short of disgraceful, with my electorate of Gilmore being a good example of how heartless some banks have been in their approach to smaller communities. Towns that were built around banks—which were seen as providing a good and stable environment—have seen their banks close down one after the other. Towns that have existed for generations simply cannot survive with no easy way of doing basic weekly banking.

The amazing part of the story is that these banks do not always close because they are not profitable, but simply because they are not making the huge profits of their city counterparts. Big money alone dictates bank ethics in today's world. Sadly, those bullyboys are given state protection to save them from real competition and they forget middle Australia which has supported them.

If banks have the power to make and break communities, if they are willing to decide which towns survive and which go under, they must also be prepared for the community to fight back and demand to see their credentials. To my constituents in Gilmore who are left without banks, I say, `Consider your alternatives. Turn to financial institutions that care about rural and regional Australia and, if that means turning to the credit union industry, then do so without a moment's hesitation.'

The Wallis report looked into these areas of concern, and its recommendations understandably wiped the smirk off the faces of the big banks. It has been suggested that, if credit unions are prepared to work for rural Australia, then they should be given the chance to operate, and I would be the first to support this type of increased competition.

The Wallis report found that the Australian financial system costs users in excess of $40 billion annually. The credit union industry argues that increased competition could save $4 billion and could offer real alternatives to the major banks—banks which time after time work against their clientele, which fail to pass on to the public interest rate cuts and which charge extremely high rates simply for the privilege of doing business with them. Yet credit unions are denied the right to function as banks, and rural Australia continues to struggle under the weight of the questionable decisions of the major banks.

South Coast member Eric Ellis has taken a particular interest in these and other troubling aspects of the banking industry, having been approached by many victims of the banks' indifference to the plight of average Australians. One family in particular, the Egans, lost their business, health and assets to unscrupulous banks. We soon found out that the Egans were not alone. Another constituent, Mr Martin Grimson, also comes to mind, as do many others.

There were examples of unauthorised loan accounts being created, wrong interest calculations, funds transferred from one account to the other without the customer's authorisation leading to penalty charges, interest rates altered in the term of the loan, mystery charges which were never explained, correspondence which is never acknowledged and unhealthy or unethical relationships between solicitors and banks. The list of abuse simply never ends.

I urge the full implementation of the Wallis report's recommendations, which would promote competition amongst the banks, credit unions, building societies and insurance companies, reduce the cost of regulation in Australia, ensure competitive neutrality and provide all depositors with the same level of protection by supporting the Australian Prudential Commission. I support the motion.