Senator CROSSIN (3:12 PM) —I rise to take note of Senator Kemp's answer today on bank fees and charges—his non-answer really because he spent the time available to him talking about interest rates, as Senator Ian Campbell has just done. The question to Senator Kemp was about bank fees and charges. Let us have a look at the situation of bank fees and charges in this country. Senator Kemp probably did not know the answer and does not want to know.

In the last year, Australians have paid a record $10 billion in fees and charges to Australia's top five banks. We hear Senator Ian Campbell saying that if you do not like it, tell your bank manager that the fees are too high and go somewhere else. There are not a lot of other places to go if we are talking about the top five banks. The KPMG report released this week highlighted that the $10 billion was 22 per cent more than in the previous year. The five major banks—the Commonwealth Bank, the National Bank, ANZ, Westpac and St. George—have all increased their fees and charges in the last 12 months. The biggest rises have been through transaction account fees, lending fees, credit cards, the use of ATM and EFTPOS charges. More and more Australians these days are using the facilities of ATM and EFTPOS.

The worst hit are the customers who can least afford it—pensioners and small account holders. Fees and charges are used by banks because they want customers out of their branches. They are using cheaper electronic banking. My colleague Senator Hutchins referred to Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett in his question—perhaps this is one of the very few things that Kennett gets right. He said that he thought it was outrageous that banks have raised their fees so much—the Premier of Victoria making a very valid comment about increasing bank charges. He went on to say that he thought computer technology would have made banking much cheaper, not dearer.

What are some of the increases in fees that he might have been referring to? Let us look at them. The National Bank increased its minimum balance applicable to fee-free accounts from $500 to $1,000. That bank also introduced a charge for customers failing to pay the minimum monthly balance on credit cards within 30 days of the due date. The ANZ Bank has increased its monthly account keeping fees from $4 to $6. It introduced a $15 charge on lost cards and raised the current cost of stopping cheques from $7.50 to $15—so there is a 50 per cent hike in fees there. It has also introduced a $6 monthly fee on pensioner deeming accounts for balances below $500. Westpac raised its annual fee on selected credit cards from $18 to $24 and introduced a fee for overseas foreign currency purchases or cash advances by credit card. The Commonwealth Bank has also increased its over the counter withdrawals from $1.50 to $2 and increased its fee for cash withdrawal from ATMs from 45c to 60c.

The banks are using these fees in an attempt to force out the less profitable customers, but the highly profitable, of course, are provided with a waiver or reduced fees. Fees and charges now provide for almost 20 per cent of income to the major banks—and this is up 17.4 per cent from four years ago.

What is the federal government doing about this? In today's answer by Senator Kemp he could not talk to us about bank fees and charges; he could only talk to us about interest rates. He said that consumers were reaping the rewards. Of what? Of increased fees and bank charges? He said there were very substantial benefits to consumers. How? How can he prove that when he did not answer the question and in view of the facts that I have just read out about the evidence of an increase in bank fees and charges?

The federal government leap to the defence of banks. They are defending banks rather than the average Australian. As the Consumer Credit Legal Centre has said, `The government must take responsibility for the treatment of disadvantaged consumers in a deregulated banking market.' The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration has called for the Reserve Bank to look into fees and charges. Good idea. But it is not surprising that people have become increasingly disillusioned with the banking services of this country. (Time expired)