The Cloncurry Shire Council in outback Queensland has issued an open letter to Westpac and the local community and launched public petitions on the closing of the local Westpac branch.
A booming outback town, Cloncurry is 780km west of Townsville, 120km east of Mount Isa, 1700km north west of Brisbane, 2200km from Sydney and 2500km from Melbourne. It’s the birthplace of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
The open letter says:
“We matter and we deserve better:
It is unacceptable that thousands of people across north-western Queensland will now need to drive hundreds of kilometres to access Westpac face-to-face banking, following the recent decision to close the Cloncurry Westpac branch.
Westpac employees who have recently relocated to Cloncurry are now left wanting answers, and jobs, following the shock announcement from Westpac, which reported a bottom-line net profit of $5.7b in November 2022.
Westpac has been grooming customers for many years to do their job, moving away from face-to-face banking and to online, faceless interactions; meaning profits are up, but foot traffic is down. But instead of reinvesting staff resources in supporting customers with more personalised banking services and wealth-creation options, the bank is shutting its doors. And that’s not right.
Cloncurry is a community that has worked together to drive economic growth through embracing innovation and overcoming obstacles to support continued investment in our local economy.
For a dynamic region that’s growing in strength with massive expansion and investment from international mining companies and others, it is a slap in the face when a major finance company turns its back – yet expects us to stay on as customers!
What does this say to future investors, residents and travellers in, and to our region, and what will be the impact on general confidence? That we don’t matter?
Westpac announced the closure of Cloncurry’s branch by email to Cloncurry Shire Council’s chief executive officer on Friday 3 December. The closure comes at a time when Cloncurry is bucking the trends of most regional communities, with a population that is growing rapidly, now totalling an estimated 3705.
Since 2020, the population has grown by 4.81 per cent, while population growth in regional Queensland was less than one per cent. The population growth since 2016 has been estimated at 18.5 per cent. We are booming. We matter.
Our economy is built on a foundation of mining, transport and agriculture. These local businesses contribute billions of dollars to the Queensland economy. Ours is a region of legacy businesses, businesses that have forged wealth for Queensland and the country. Ours is a region that remains important from a state and federal revenue perspective, but not from a personal banking perspective.
It is disgraceful that big business, who our community have supported for decades, has turned its back on us. We are concerned for the many elderly residents, community groups and businesses, that rely on the branch for face-to-face assistance. The role that personal face-to-face banking plays for our region cannot be underestimated – in times of drought, flood, fire and indeed all rural crises, it’s the local bank manager who becomes a lifeline, a face and a voice to be relied on. Someone who is always there. Not any more.
Personal banking is one of the key pillars of a functional society. When pillars are taken away, structures collapse. This is happening.
The limited banking offer proposed via the local post office is an unacceptable level of service for Westpac’s dedicated customer base. If the bank closes, the nearest Westpac Bank is close to a three-hour round trip.
The Cloncurry Shire Council banks with Westpac and will likely reconsider its future banking options should the branch close.
Our greatest fear is that this decision will give other vital services the precedent to withdraw more services from Cloncurry and regional Queensland.
We deserve better.”
