How Banks are Forcing a Cashless Society & Digital ID: ABC Afternoon Briefing with Greg Jennett

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I discussed with Greg Jennett the cash drought and the news that Armaguard is in financial trouble, which could have repercussions for cash.

Armaguard is owned by transport magnate Lindsay Fox. His business interests extend not just to trucking but airports also. The Prime Minister attended Lindsay Fox’s lavish birthday party last year – a direct relationship there. Armaguard thinks it can use its connections with the Prime Minister to put its hand out for taxpayers money when there are other options available.

Banks are crying poor over the cost of their ATMs, but with profits at $31 billion last year, the banks could simply pay Armaguard more for their services. They could also stop blocking out smaller competitors like Commander Security, a small Australian cash handling company that wants to move cash for clients. Yet the banks refuse to accept their cash deposits. Why are banks forcing out profitable competitors? It appears so they can cry poor and put their hand out to the taxpayers.

The excuse that nobody uses cash anymore is a self-fulfilling prophesy. Banks are forcing people to use online transactions by closing bank branches – 2000 in the last 6 years, and by pulling out ATMs – 700 in the last 12 months. Banks charge fees on electronic transactions. They make nothing if you pay in cash and as they don’t know what you purchased, they can’t use that information to build your data profile.

The Optus outage last year demonstrated just how easy electronic commerce is to disrupt. Even before that outage drove people back to cash, usage had actually stabilised in Australia at $30 million cash withdrawals a month, with more than $100 billion of cash in circulation. Rumours of its demise are wishful thinking from our greedy, self-interested banks.

Banking is an essential service. If the banks are not going to fulfil their obligations and readily provide people with cash, then we need a people’s bank to do it.

Transcript

Greg Jennett: Now the use of less and less cash by Australians appears to be a choice made freely by consumers. But the problem is it’s having side effects right down the line all the way to the authorised secure trucks that transport cash from where it’s printed to the big four banks that buy from the Reserve Bank of Australia. Arma Guard is the one and only operator left in that market, and it’s in deep financial trouble with this side of its business that’s become a headache for the Big four banks, but also for some remote country towns, which you’re finding it hard to even get their hands on cash in some cases. One Nation, Malcolm Roberts, has been keeping an eye on the couch cash drought for quite a while now. He joined us here in the studio a little earlier. Malcolm Roberts. Welcome back to Afternoon Briefing. It’s been a while, so we’re glad you can join us. I know through monitoring committees and other aspects of the parliament here, you’ve been monitoring the decline of cash and its repercussions for quite some time. I thought we might focus today on some reporting about the possible decline of not one, but both cash in transit firms. These are the ones that officially transported around the country. Amaguard is under financial stress. What happens if they go under?

Malcolm Roberts: Well then banks need to find a way to move the cash. And what I think is going on, Greg, is that, well, first of all, Armaguard is owned by Lindsey Fox, who also owns other trucks, trucking businesses and also airlines. And he’s very close to Anthony Albanese who was at his birthday party recently. So, I think there’s some questions that need to be asked about that. But what’s happening is that Armaguard did a deal with the competition Consumer Commission just four months ago saying they promised if they were amalgamated, they would stay afloat for quite some time as a

Greg Jennett: … monopoly.

Malcolm Roberts: As a monopoly. And four months later they’re talking about shutting up shop. So that causes problems for the movement of cash and the banks want to get the taxpayers on the hook.

Greg Jennett: Alright, so who would or should pick up the tab if Armaguard is struggling here? Is it a government subsidy to them? Is it a renegotiated rate of payment from the Big Four banks? How does their financial predicament right now be alleviated?

Malcolm Roberts: There are competitors to Armaguard and one of them is Commander Security. It’s a small firm that can move cash around, but the banks refuse to deal with them. And the banks I think are even talking about banking commander security. They’re trying to wipe out competition. The other thing to remember, Greg, is you’ve taken a surprisingly strong stance for the banks. The banks have a social licence to fulfil. The banks operate in banking, and they must provide legal tender. That’s a fundamental to banking if you’re in banking, provide legal tender. And so, what we’re seeing is the bank’s trying to drive out cash and they shut 2000 branches in the last six years and they’ve shut 700 ATMs in the last 12 months. What they’re trying to do is drive out cash so that you have to use the bank digital transfers, which means you incur fees, which they’re missing at the moment, and also they miss your data. They want your data to build profiles about you.

Greg Jennett: Sure. So, in some country towns where bank branches are already thin or non-existent on the ground, I believe Australia Post has been playing a bit of a de facto role as a bank flying in cash in some cases at their own expense just to keep a town ticking over with cash. If we’re thinking laterally about solutions here, could Australia Post come into play with a funded obligation to be, I suppose, the bank of last resort in a country town?

Malcolm Roberts: Definitely the Australia Post licenced Post office is actually providing those services now, many banking services now, and they’re doing it for fees that some of the banks won’t disclose. Others will disclose. So, we would like to go beyond that and see if People’s bank, because the original Commonwealth Bank before it was privatised in 1995, was back in 1910 when it was formed by the Fisher Labour Government. It provided a vital service. It put our country on its feet, and it provided enormous competition to the globalist banks that own our big four banks. And so, what we need now is that same kind of competition from a people’s bank and the post office is one form of people’s bank that could be extended not just to a post office with banking services, but to a proper bank.

Greg Jennett: And should they be funded because under their obligations at the moment, Australia Post are in effect funded to do certain things but not the transportation of cash.

Malcolm Roberts: I think if they’re providing a service, they need to be compensated for that service. They need to be funded. And cash is a vital service. The availability of cash is vital because it provides competition, it provides choice, it provides freedom to escape the tyranny of the major banks.

Greg Jennett: As you’ve asked questions of different agencies in various committees on this over time, are you satisfied that they are focusing their attention on what looks like a pretty tight squeeze right now on Armaguard? We’re in an urgent state of resolution, aren’t we? Yes.

Malcolm Roberts: I think there’s an underlying premise to your question too, Greg. And that is that cash is dying. It’s not dying. It has declined until the recent years, but we still have 30 million cash transactions for withdrawal of cash [monthly] at the moment. A lot of people need cash. The Reserve Bank itself did a survey recently that said one in four older Australians can’t handle the internet – they must have cash. We also have $100 billion in cash in the economy. And so, cash is here to stay. And what we’ve seen is, I’ve been on a committee to inquire into the closure of bank branches in rural towns. And what we’ve seen is a deliberate push. It is deliberate, Greg to shut down bank branches and to shut down ATMs to drive people to towards cash. So, it’s people that decline in cash until recently when there’s been an uptick in cash, the decline has been driven by the banks for their own short-term and long-term money.

Greg Jennett: So, you’re saying this isn’t entirely market led by the customers, it’s actually being driven by them, but that’s irreversible, isn’t it? This trend towards bank closures only Last week in Western Australia, Bankwest converted itself as a subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia into virtually a digital only bank. And we’ve had people on this programme, Malcolm suggest to us that that is a bit of a test bed for where others will certainly follow.

Malcolm Roberts: I think the banks will try to do whatever they can to minimise their costs and to maximise their revenue. But we must remember that banking is an essential service. Banks should not be controlling it at the moment, people. So, what we need is banks that provide a service and fulfil their social licence, they have an obligation to satisfy customers all over the country. And that’s what we need. And if they can’t do it, then let’s have a people’s bank like the Commonwealth Bank used to be.

Greg Jennett: Alright, well we’ll leave you to keep an eye on all things related to Cash Gold and the Malcolm Roberts in your work as a senator. And thank you once again for joining us today on this emerging story around Armagaurd. Thanks so much.

Malcolm Roberts: You’re welcome, Greg. Pleasure to be here.

Greg Jennett: Alright, we’re pretty much done with afternoon briefing for today.

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Labor Threatens New Tax on Clothing

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I spoke to Alexandra Marshall of Spectator Australia on the outrageous tax that is being floated, which will impact those on smaller incomes and families.

The Environment Minister, Tania Plibersek, has warned the fashion industry to turn its back on the concept of fashion that encourages people to buy too many new clothes. This idea is straight out of Chairman Mao’s China where everyone dressed in the same uniform, reducing the need for clothing to just a few sets of clothes.

This is your future under the most radical government in Australian history, who are actively promoting the World Economic Forum’s war on clothing under the guise of ‘saving the environment’, but really they just want us to have less.

Minister Plibersek is trying to justify their levy on clothing by saying it will create a ‘Green Fund’. Based on flawed science, this tax on clothing comes just after the WEF suggested on its website that people wash their clothes less often — you will wear old clothes and be dirty. This is literally what the WEF thinks of us. It’s impossible to be “happy” about this out of control, UN agenda followed loyally by this government.

One Nation opposes any new taxes. For the Prime Minister to even consider more tax on clothing shows how out of touch he is.

Spectator Australia

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The Decade-Long Scam Robbing Some of Our Miners

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By Robert Gottliebsen | The Australian

Before being elected to the Senate, Malcolm Roberts was a coal miner, following in the tradition of Australia’s sixth Prime Minister Joseph Cook.

Some five years ago, a small group of coal miners came to Roberts telling him they believed they were not being paid correctly — but they couldn’t work out what was wrong.

At the time, Roberts had no idea he was on the edge of uncovering what he calls a “scam” which has the potential to be Australia’s largest ever wage underpayment scheme.

Read more of the article here: Robert Gottliebsen: Miners underpaid by strange legislative loophole | The Australian

See all material on this issue

Casual Coal Wage Theft

Related Parliamentary Speeches

Labor are Not the Party of the Workers
Exposing the Permanent-Casual Rort
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Power to the People – The National Rally Against Reckless Renewables

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Renewable energy is facing failure on a number of fronts, not least of which is merit. Engineers and energy regulators – even those who were once enthusiastic about solar panels, wind turbines and batteries – are showing signs of nervousness. The lights are flickering. The costs are mounting. And globally, raw materials are running short.

Read the full article here: Power to the people: the National Rally Against Reckless Renewables | The Spectator Australia

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Sky News with Rita Panahi

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Robodebt had a Royal Commission called three months after Anthony Albanese was elected.

Four years after we first heard of COVID and two years after Albanese was elected, we still don’t have a COVID Royal Commission.

Is PM Albanese only interested in “transparency and accountability” when it’s politically convenient for him?

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Senator Roberts Talks on TNT Radio with Dean Mackin

Topics discussed:

* Introduction of the Digital ID Bill into the Senate

* The Pandemic Treaty and IHR Amendments

* And more …

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Scaremongers Calling for MASKS Again in Queensland

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

This isn’t about health, it’s about fear. That is all that masks are useful for.

Will any government want to explain to Australia why we’re apparently on the 8th wave when the 6th booster is available?

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ABC Interview: Union bosses neck deep in casual exploitation – Closing loopholes

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The union bosses claim that Labor’s latest Industrial Relations legislation will “close the loophole” of casual workers being paid less than permanents, especially in the mining sector.

You can’t step on site without a union enterprise bargaining agreement, so how are casual workers getting ripped off when they’re working under union negotiated agreements?

The answer is that some union bosses are getting kickbacks from labour hire companies in exchange for passing through dodgy agreements that allow casuals to be exploited.

The Fair Work Commission is meant to stop this, but they’re either asleep at the wheel or deliberately not doing their job.

Transcript

1 November 2023

Presenter

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment, known as the, “Closing Loopholes Bill,” held its hearings in Rockhampton this week. Announced by the federal government in September, the Closing Loopholes Bill aims to criminalise wage theft, introduce minimum standards for workers in the gig economy, close the forced permanent casual worker loophole, and close the labour hire loophole.

It’s all about that thing that we’ve been talking about for yonks, and that is, if you’re doing the same job as someone else, you should get the same pay. One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts is in Rockhampton for the hearings, and he’s been raising the issue of the exploitation of the permanent casual workers in CQ miners for years. Frazer Pearce asked him if the proposed legislation would provide a better outcome for miners.

Malcolm Roberts

Look, my position on this Fair Work Act for a start, the current act as it stands, without Labor’s latest draft amendments, is 1,200 pages long, and they’re wanting to add another 800 pages. It already makes the workers vulnerable because there’s no way any single worker or small business can understand it; and it helps the IR club. All regulations in that help the major groups like the major banks, the big pharma, and the Industrial Relations Club.

That’s the lawyers, the Union bosses, the Industry Associations for multinational companies. It hurts the workers. I’ve seen that firsthand in Hunter, the Hunter Valley, and in Central Queensland. The second point I’d make is that we wouldn’t be having this inquiry if it wasn’t for the fact that the cross bench has moved it to extend the opportunity, to extend the reporting date from October through to next February. We would not be here listening to the views of industry unions and individual workers, if it wasn’t for the fact that we got an extension till next February.

The Labor Party voted against that extension. They don’t want to listen to people. We voted in favour of it. It’s a very important bill. It’s a huge bill. Big ramifications for workers as well as all players in the industry. The third point I’d make is that current employment in the coal industry at least, is that illegal employment of casual, supposedly casual, in coal is only possible, only possible, with a mining and energy union endorsed enterprise agreement.

We’ve seen that. I can go into detail if you need, but this is probably not the time. But the Mining Union in the Hunter Valley in particular, and to some extent in Central Queensland, has been passing enterprise agreements that do not protect the basic rights of workers. They don’t meet the award criteria as a basic minimum. They don’t meet the National Employment standards as a basic minimum.

They have been selling out workers in the coal industry and what we need for a solution is just a simple enforcement of the Fair Work Act. Now, early on in the proceedings and dealing with these issues, I proposed the, “Same work, same pay” bill. It’s very simple bill. But what I’ve since realised in doing more work, listening to miners, is that all that’s needed is to enforce the current Fair Work Act.

Frazer Pearce

What’s the level of, do you think of exploitation against these workers? Are you saying it’s widespread or it’s just isolated?

Malcolm Roberts

Yes, it’s widespread and it varies in severity. They’re paying well below the award and as I said, the award is the basic minimum. They have not done , they’ve not done the boot test, which is the, “better off overall test”. And that’s how these dodgy agreements have got through that are shafting coal miners in Central Queensland and the Hunter Valley. They have left out basic leave entitlements.

They don’t pay casual loading. Casuals are not legally allowed to be employed in the coal industry other than in a dodgy agreement, which is unlawful in itself; because they bypass the normal processes. People are missing out on leave entitlement. People are, as a result of being hired casual, short term, are threatened with dismissal at any time, people are afraid to raise safety incidents.

There’s a culture of fear there. There’s a culture of fear at many mines from people standing up and and afraid of standing up. There’s also been a lack of reporting of injuries. New South Wales in particular, we suspect also Queensland. There’s a, basically there’s a loss in some cases of workers insurance, workers’ compensation, accident pay. These are fundamental rights.

Frazer Pearce

Is this going to be a strong platform for you in the next election? Was it a vote winner for you in the last one?

Malcolm Roberts

We don’t do things to get votes. We do things because they’re right.

Presenter

That’s One Nation Senator, Malcolm Roberts having a chat with ABC Capricornia Frazer Pearce, talking about the closing loopholes bill. The hearing’s being held in Rockhampton at the moment. It’s a couple of minutes to eight.

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No BS with Birchy | Australia’s Path Forward

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I joined Nathan Birch, the Host of No BS with Birchy, to discuss with him the reasons the government are increasing immigration to Australia and what are the proposed strategies to rebuild Australia on a national level.

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The Aussie Wire | Promises and Disappointments

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I joined Topher Field of The Aussie Wire to discuss my disappointment in the “toothless” COVID inquiry Anthony Albanese announced recently.

Transcript

Topher Field: Cast your mind back to before the last federal election. If you can remember that long ago, and you may recall that promises were made. Specifically, Anthony Albanese promised that if he were to win election, he would hold a Royal Commission into COVID, looking into all the various aspects of the COVID response. That was quite some time ago, and the Royal Commission has not been forthcoming, but good news, we’ve just had the announcement of an inquiry. Surely that means that Anthony Albanese is making good on his word, and we will have a full and thorough inquiry into all aspects of the COVID response so that lessons can be learned and we can get it right next time. My next guest isn’t quite convinced and has released a press release to that effect. It is Senator Malcolm Roberts from the Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party. You’re a senator for Queensland, and I’m very, very grateful for you coming on The Aussie Wire.

Malcolm Roberts: Thank you very much for the invitation, Topher. It’s always a pleasure to have a chat with you.

Topher Field: Now your press release caught my eye, but honestly, there has been quite a lot of commentary on this already. This is something that a lot of people are very quick to point out. The terms of reference are a concern, are they not? Can you take us through your concerns and why you felt the need to release that press release?

Malcolm Roberts: Certainly, I do share huge concerns. I’ll make a quote from Dan Andrews. He says, “Any inquiry into COVID-19 should be forward-focused and not centre on the actions of government during the pandemic.” The premiers have rolled the Prime Minister because the premiers have done the dirty work for Scott Morrison, and the media release, as I pointed out, this is toothless. There’s no power to compel witnesses. It’s compromised because there’s a limited scope. It’s federal only. It’s a whitewash to protect labour premises, as I’ve said. For example, they raised the topic of international border closures in the terms of reference but not state. So it’s strictly federal.

He’s running from a Royal Commission, yet the same man, Albanese Anthony Albanese, had a Robodebt Royal Commission, which was far smaller. Robodebt was far smaller in cost impact. So he has broken his promise regarding a Royal Commission on the COVID tragedy, mismanagement, deceit. This COVID, what would you call it? COVID mismanagement was the most invasive and expensive responses in Australia’s history. We’re still suffering from it. We’ve got a high inflation. We’ve got excess of 40,000 excess deaths due to the COVID injections. We’ve got lingering injuries. This morning I am at a small business conference back in your old town of Melbourne,-

Topher Field: My hometown, yes.

Malcolm Roberts: … and I went to print out my speech just for practising it, and a lovely lady printed it out for me at the help desk, and I saw that she was walking very awkwardly. Sure enough, and this is months and months after her third injection, but there’s no doubt. I’ve got people, friends at home, who’ve been paralysed. They literally woke up in the morning, and they’re paralysed from the neck down. The three people they’ve appointed to be their reviewers for this panel, it’s not an investigation, it’s not an inquiry, it’s a review, the three insiders appear to be compromised. They appear to be former public servants, and one or two of them look as though they’ve had lots of grants in the past, and this will be a ticket for lots more grants in the future. So what I’m going to do, Topher, is, before the end of the year, as I said in my media release, I’m going to ask the Senate for an inquiry to recommend the Royal Commission in terms of reference because we’re going to have one.

Topher Field: Look, we need to. With the powers that were seized by governments, state and federal, and the sorts of things that they did, it’s quite extraordinary to think that we’re going to have an inquiry. But that inquiry in the terms of reference, correct me if I’ve misunderstood, explicitly excludes unilateral actions taken by a state, and yet during the pandemic we had now admittedly a different political party. The liberal party Prime Minister at the time, Scott Morrison, was sitting there saying, “Oh, the federal government can’t do so many different things. It’s up to the states.” And now that we’re having an inquiry, we’re excluding the decisions made by the states. Isn’t that where the response was, according to the federal government of the time?

Malcolm Roberts: I happen to think that the key response was in Scott Morrison, but the implementation was in the premier. So the premiers hold the can. They did it. They did it. So I agree with you entirely. We’ve had media criticising, we’ve had opposition, which you’d expect to criticise. We’ve had doctors criticise, I think, the front page headlines on the Australian newspaper today this evening, words to the effect that the medical practitioners have come out against it. So we’ve got, as you said, the terms of reference include the following areas, are not in scope for the inquiry.

Topher Field: Yeah.

Malcolm Roberts:Actions taken unilaterally by state and territory governments and international programmes and activities assisting foreign countries are not in it. That’s pretty much everything they did.

Topher Field: Yeah.

Malcolm Roberts: Then you get infectious disease expert Peter Collignon today, and I’m reading from these notes I made for you. He told the Australian, “A Royal Commission should examine measures taken to curb COVID infections, including those taken by states as their utility will not be probed during an inquiry.” He said, “Were lockdowns beneficial? Were border closures beneficial? This is an infectious diseases doctor stopping people going outside for more than an hour. That is what affected people personally the most.” He said, and the people that’ve got on this review, they’re not the sort of people who understand what everyday people suffered. They won’t understand what you suffered at the hands of that tyrant, Dan Andrews. This is ridiculous. It’s just a whitewash to protect Dan Andrews, Annastacia, Palaszczuk and the other labour premiers. McGowan was the other one, wasn’t he?

Topher Field: Yeah. Some people could be forgiven for asking the question. Senator Malcolm Robertson, yourself, and if I can mention a few names, we’ve had some wonderful work from senators Alex Antic, Gerard Rennick, Matt Canavan. Ralph Babet is a recent edition, but he’s really making a name for himself and getting stuck in. We’ve got a handful of really fantastic people who are getting stuck in on this issue. There are other great politicians who are getting stuck in on other issues as well, but just singling it down to this issue. We’re seeing a handful standing up, but we’re not seeing a lot of results.

Some people get very disillusioned. They say, “You’re a politician. Fix this. Why can’t you fix this for us?” We’re in a situation now where yourself and a handful of others are saying, “We need a Royal Commission.” The government is saying, “You’re not going to get one. All you’re going to get is this incredibly prejudiced whitewash inquiry.” What’s to be done from this point forward? You’re saying you’re going to be calling for a Royal Commission. You’re going to hold a Senate inquiry. What are the mechanisms at your disposal? How do we move forward from here towards what we all want to see?

Malcolm Roberts: I’ll be asking for the Senate to prove an inquiry to develop the terms of reference. The Senate will give me permission or not give us permission for that inquiry, just as the Senate does in every other request. So that’s one thing I’ll be doing some work. We’re lining that up at the moment, but doing an inquiry of our own, much the same as we did in March and August of 2021, I think, I can’t remember, 2022, where we had a multi-party, cross-party inquiry. But this one we’ll probably do in-house because it’s going to take a lot of getting top experts from around the world, particularly from Australia, and a whole variety of people, not just experts but also vaccine injection-injured people.

So we’re working on those kinds of things. But you might notice that every week in the Senate, I give an update. Two of my staff team are just wonderful on this issue, and we give an update every week in the Senate. We didn’t do it last week because we were flat out, but we give an update on the latest things unearthed around the world, and it is startling what’s coming out. It is absolutely beyond my most wonderful expectations. So we’re really getting there, and we’ll put a lot of pressure on these people to come clean, Topher, so we’ll just keep the pressure up. We will continue this forever until we get the Royal Commission, until we get the truth out, and until the guilty are punished.

Topher Field: The future is written by those who show up, and Senator Malcolm Roberts, I’m grateful that you just keep showing up every day, every week in that Senate, despite overwhelming odds against you at times. Like I said, there are some other wonderful people in there, but you continue to show up, you continue to persevere, and you continue to chip away. I tend to share your optimism. I look at what’s happening around the world. I do think we are making progress. Sometimes it doesn’t look that way, but I do think we are. The narrative has shifted, and the sins of the past are coming home to roost on those who committed them, and it can’t come soon enough as far as I’m concerned. Senator Malcolm Roberts, thank you for your press release today. Thank you for continuing to try and hold the federal government accountable, and he’s hoping we will see that Royal Commission someday. Thank you for coming on The Aussie Wire.

Malcolm Roberts: You’re welcome, Topher. Keep going with what you’re doing. Aussie Wire needs success. For Australia’s sake, we need success of the independent new media. Thank you very much for doing what you’re doing.

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