Page 997 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 31 March 1993
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Madam Speaker, I think it is clear from those comments that the concern about the operation of banks has been taken on board at the very highest levels. I certainly look forward to the action that the Prime Minister has foreshadowed in his speech, because I believe that that action should actually lead to a better outcome, especially for small and medium businesses in their bank dealings. As Mr Stevenson has said, many private individuals have had a rough trot at the hands of the banks, and it is up to us all to publicise those matters when they are known to occur and also to seek redress for the people concerned.
I know that the banks are in a competitive market, and about the only sanction left to the private individual is to make known the treatment that they have had at the hands of one bank or another. Nevertheless, Madam Speaker, I think there are reform processes coming on. I know that the conversations that I have had over the past few years with bank managers indicate a spirit of enlightenment and a greater willingness to be of service to their customers. Of course, that is only good business for the banks. They are in competition with each other. They need as many customers as they can get, and they need to protect their good names.
I join with Mr Stevenson in looking forward to better times from the banks, Madam Speaker, but I would like to say that I think the Prime Minister's approach augurs well for banking in the future, particularly by requiring a more active monitoring and regulatory role from the Reserve Bank. I expect that in time we will, in fact, get a better result.
MRS CARNELL (3.32): Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about banking practices and the unacceptable way in which these practices can affect small business. A strong small business sector is of vital importance both to Canberra and to Australia, and I am sure that no-one would argue with that. Small business is a major employer. Nationally, over 72 per cent of employees work in the small business sector. In Canberra small business is already a major employer. Even the Chief Minister admits that all of Canberra's future employment growth will probably be in this sector.
It should be remembered that small business is almost always independently owned and managed. It is usually the owner who is the sole contributor of business operating capital. It should also be remembered that in Canberra the average small business employs fewer than 20 people. In other words, small business is owned and operated with very little backup. Most people involved in small business are only too aware of the demands on their time and the need to be well organised and to be good managers. They often work seven days a week for 12 hours a day. This is not an unusual situation for people who own their own small business. Small business people often do not have the luxury of going from bank to bank to compare the services provided every time the bank changes its rules, even if - and I stress "if" - full details of those services provided by each bank are available.
While I would not go so far as to say that banking practices are unethical, as Mr Stevenson's matter of public importance states, I would say that they are sometimes unfair and can treat small business operators very poorly indeed. Regularly, banks do not provide an adequate service to small business operators. In fact, most banks do very little to encourage investment in small business, particularly those small businesses that wish to grow and expand and employ more young Canberrans.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .