Mayor calls on National Australia Bank to reconsider closure of Inglewood branch

Goondiwindi Regional Council Mayor, the Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM, is very critical of the news that the Inglewood branch of the National Australian Bank (NAB) is closing.

“I call upon the National Australia Bank to reconsider this decision,” he said.

“There is currently a Senate inquiry into the extent of bank closures in regional Australia, and the Senate representatives asked all banks to halt decisions about regional bank closures until after the inquiry report is tabled in December 2023. I find it very questionable that the NAB is making this decision now despite this request. 

“Further, the NAB is actively promoting its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Principles. I fail to see how any reasonable person would consider this decision meets their own social obligations in disadvantaged areas.

“We’re being told that the local Australia Post shop front can now undertake a range of services previously supported by regional banks; whilst our post offices do a wonderful job, they cannot offer the full range of services that a bank can. I’m more interested in knowing what current banking services will not be available through the post office, including large cash floats for sporting events or physical signatures for banking documents. These are the same concerns the Texas community had when NAB closed its bank a couple years ago.

“It is likely that customers will now need to travel around a 200-kilometre round trip to undertake some of their banking services. I’m really concerned for the many elderly residents and socially disadvantaged people within the Inglewood community. Elderly members within our community are fearful of scammers and fraudulent activity over the phone or internet services for banking purposes. It’s therefore no surprise that this decision has sparked concern within the community,” said the Mayor.

Cr Springborg said, “access to banking services is absolutely critical to regional towns. Banking services are critical to the functionality of a town, with many business habits such as opening and closing times and shopping habits aligning to bank operations. The lack of banking services can result in diminished overall confidence within the community and the way that those wishing to invest in a community can view it.”