Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL (Coogee) (12:25:35): I support the incredibly important motion of the member for Northern Tablelands and make a brief contribution to echo the sentiment of this Chamber today about the removal of bank branches—even in my own community—and the impact that has had on service provision in my electorate. Having spent a significant proportion of my own life on my family farm in Bannister, I know firsthand that closing local bank branches in regional communities can have a much more devastating impact on those who are further disadvantaged by things like a lack of internet access, which then diminishes access to internet banking. Unfortunately, it seems that no community is immune to this crisis. My community has recently lost bank branches in three suburbs: Randwick, Charing Cross and Coogee. For the locals who bank with those branches—some for decades—the loss of the branches has left them without access to one of society's essential services. Many constituents who have written to my office to tell me about these closures often express to me that they feel forgotten and unappreciated and sometimes express feelings of powerlessness, anger and deep betrayal.

Most certainly, the loss of local branches is felt more deeply in the towns and villages of rural and remote New South Wales. However, it is also deeply felt in sections of my community. Constituents of mine who are elderly, frail or less mobile, parents with young children and many business owners who fill the shops and commercial spaces around lost branches have felt that loss very acutely. It is notable that each of the branches that have recently closed in my electorate are branches of the major Australian banks, which are often referred to as the big four. I take this opportunity to recognise the great work that is being done by the Clovelly Community Bank Branch to support our community during this very tough year. This community owned and run bank has kept its doors open throughout the pandemic and has actually increased its provision of essential banking services to the community.

I thank the Clovelly Community Bank Branch for the work that it is doing while the big four have been turning their backs on locals. Local bank branches are essential. They allow for thriving local business districts and communities. Once they are lost, there is a dramatic impact on the community that flows through to other services and businesses alike, as well as hugely detrimental impacts on local business and community morale. Banking is an essential service. In light of the closure of the National Australia Bank's Uralla branch and several bank branches in my own community, I believe that a conversation about the merits of a public bank in New South Wales is again worth having. It is a government's role to provide essential services to the community. With the closure of these branches and so many more, we see that the private sector is failing many communities around New South Wales. The Government should investigate how it might provide an alternative.