Forwarded from Tom Hawkins
Yesterday, One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts tabled a motion to disallow Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ Treasury regulation to mandate cash acceptance by supermarkets and fuel stations, which came into effect on 1 January.
The name of these proposed regulations is misleading in the extreme. Instead of encouraging cash acceptance, the proposed regulations will accelerate and encourage the dismantling of infrastructure, namely banks and ATMs, that are needed to support cash on the pretext of protecting Australians ability to use cash for grocery and fuel purchases.
The legislation seeks to protect the use of cash for fuel and grocery purchases at businesses with aggregate turnover of over $10 million.
Does anyone believe that one of the Coles Woolworths duopoly or the Ampol/BP/Shell fuel outlets will soon announce that cash will no longer be accepted? Whilst cash is still considered by the public as legal tender, there is no way any of the large grocery and fuel retailers would jeopardize market share by such an announcement.
The real drive for a cashless economy is coming from the banks which, in their drive for profit, want to recover more of the cost for cash distribution, a cost made larger by their own actions of reducing the number of bank branches.
Increased bank fees and the closure of more than 1500 bank branches in the past five years are deliberately pressuring more and more businesses to go cashless.
We need only ask, “Who bears the cost of long-distance drives required by small business proprietors to access floats and deposit takings?”
The recent closure of the Bendigo Bank in Queenstown, Tasmania is a perfect example. The Queenstown Bendigo Bank was the ONLY bank available to Australians living on the west coast of Tasmania. Business proprietors who accepted cash are now forced to take a 4 hour return journey to Bernie to obtain cash floats and make deposits of business takings. For these businesses, it will soon be case that it’s just not worth the trouble.
If Treasury is really interested in mandating cash acceptance it should respond to the recommendations of the Senate inquiry into bank branch closures. The first two recommendations from this Senate committee inquiry say the Australian Government should:
“adopt a policy recognising access to financial services as an essential service. To this end, it should commit to guaranteeing reasonable access to cash and financial services for all Australians.”, and
“commission an expert panel to investigate the feasibility of establishing a publicly owned bank . . . [and] examine options including, but not limited to a stand-alone public bank or one associated with, and using the branch network of Australia Post”.
The most logical solution to the decline in cash access would be the re-establishment of a government bank, calling for an expert panel to be established to assess and cost the appropriate model.
Using the established infrastructure of post offices, as suggested by the Senate inquiry on bank closures, government could readily ensure the future security offered by cash transactions.
Any ‘Cash Acceptance Regulations’ need to enforce a full mandate on all businesses to accept cash such as the bill introduced in early 2024 by Independents Andrew Gee, Bob Katter, and Dai Le. This bill would have mandated all businesses accept cash as a means of payment up to $10,000, with only specific, reasonable exemptions.
The 15 sitting days to disallow the regulations means that Roberts motion is likely to be voted on in March.
That give us almost two months to contact Coalition, Greens and Independent Senators to tell them to 1) vote for the Malcolm Roberts disallowance motion; and 2) demand Jim Chalmers instead support the Gee-Katter bill and respond to the 2024 Senate inquiry report.
If you have contacts who support cash (and who doesn't), encourage them to do the same.
Follow up emails with a phone call to their office.
To find contact details for senators and members go to:
Australian Parliament House
https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Mem
The name of these proposed regulations is misleading in the extreme. Instead of encouraging cash acceptance, the proposed regulations will accelerate and encourage the dismantling of infrastructure, namely banks and ATMs, that are needed to support cash on the pretext of protecting Australians ability to use cash for grocery and fuel purchases.
The legislation seeks to protect the use of cash for fuel and grocery purchases at businesses with aggregate turnover of over $10 million.
Does anyone believe that one of the Coles Woolworths duopoly or the Ampol/BP/Shell fuel outlets will soon announce that cash will no longer be accepted? Whilst cash is still considered by the public as legal tender, there is no way any of the large grocery and fuel retailers would jeopardize market share by such an announcement.
The real drive for a cashless economy is coming from the banks which, in their drive for profit, want to recover more of the cost for cash distribution, a cost made larger by their own actions of reducing the number of bank branches.
Increased bank fees and the closure of more than 1500 bank branches in the past five years are deliberately pressuring more and more businesses to go cashless.
We need only ask, “Who bears the cost of long-distance drives required by small business proprietors to access floats and deposit takings?”
The recent closure of the Bendigo Bank in Queenstown, Tasmania is a perfect example. The Queenstown Bendigo Bank was the ONLY bank available to Australians living on the west coast of Tasmania. Business proprietors who accepted cash are now forced to take a 4 hour return journey to Bernie to obtain cash floats and make deposits of business takings. For these businesses, it will soon be case that it’s just not worth the trouble.
If Treasury is really interested in mandating cash acceptance it should respond to the recommendations of the Senate inquiry into bank branch closures. The first two recommendations from this Senate committee inquiry say the Australian Government should:
“adopt a policy recognising access to financial services as an essential service. To this end, it should commit to guaranteeing reasonable access to cash and financial services for all Australians.”, and
“commission an expert panel to investigate the feasibility of establishing a publicly owned bank . . . [and] examine options including, but not limited to a stand-alone public bank or one associated with, and using the branch network of Australia Post”.
The most logical solution to the decline in cash access would be the re-establishment of a government bank, calling for an expert panel to be established to assess and cost the appropriate model.
Using the established infrastructure of post offices, as suggested by the Senate inquiry on bank closures, government could readily ensure the future security offered by cash transactions.
Any ‘Cash Acceptance Regulations’ need to enforce a full mandate on all businesses to accept cash such as the bill introduced in early 2024 by Independents Andrew Gee, Bob Katter, and Dai Le. This bill would have mandated all businesses accept cash as a means of payment up to $10,000, with only specific, reasonable exemptions.
The 15 sitting days to disallow the regulations means that Roberts motion is likely to be voted on in March.
That give us almost two months to contact Coalition, Greens and Independent Senators to tell them to 1) vote for the Malcolm Roberts disallowance motion; and 2) demand Jim Chalmers instead support the Gee-Katter bill and respond to the 2024 Senate inquiry report.
If you have contacts who support cash (and who doesn't), encourage them to do the same.
Follow up emails with a phone call to their office.
To find contact details for senators and members go to:
Australian Parliament House
https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Mem
Forwarded from Nadja
Ben Small MP
Petition - Save Geographe Bay
Liberal Member for Forrest
From Scott Baxter of No Wind Turbines - Scott River
This is our chance to stop “fast-track approvals” turning into fast-track environmental damage, and it takes 5 minutes.
The Federal Government is rewriting Australia’s National Environmental Standards right now. These are the rules that decide whether projects must properly protect our local bush, wetlands, waterways, wildlife and farming country — or whether “consultants and offsets” become the easy way out.
Important: there are TWO separate submission portals.
If you only submit once, your feedback could miss the right form.
Portal 1: Main rules MNES (what developers must prove before approval)
Portal 2: Offsets (the “we’ll fix it somewhere else” rules)
You don’t need to be an expert. A short, honest local submission counts. Feel free to copy/paste below and use your own words...
TEMPLATE (Portal 1) Main rules - Matters of National Environmental Significance
I’m writing as a local who cares deeply about where we live. Our environment here isn’t a blank space on a map. It’s the bush, the wetlands, the waterways, the wildlife, and the farms that support families and community.
The national standards must be strong and enforceable. Please make the key rules mandatory. If a developer doesn’t have the basic information, they should not get a green light.
No more approvals based on missing studies or “we’ll do it later.” Developers should be required to do proper local surveys first (right season, proper effort, clear methods) and the results should be transparent.
Make avoidance the first rule: if a project can’t avoid sensitive areas, habitat and threatened species, it should be redesigned, moved, scaled back or refused.
The standards must also require decision-makers to look at cumulative impacts (multiple projects over time), not just assess one project in isolation.
We need transparency and accountability: publish the baseline data, the conditions, the monitoring, and what happens when conditions are breached.
TEMPLATE (Portal 2) - Offsets rules
Offsets must not become a “pay-to-damage” system where nature is traded away and locals are told it’s fine because something will be “restored” somewhere else.
Offsets should only be allowed after a project proves it has avoided and reduced harm as much as possible. If a developer can’t show real due diligence up front, they should not be allowed to rely on offsets to get approval.
If offsets are used, they must be real and measurable and checked over time, not promises. There should be a public offsets register showing: where the offset is, what it’s meant to achieve, monitoring results, and whether it is actually working.
And if corporations or developers get it wrong, if they cut corners, don’t do proper studies, or an offset fails, there must be real consequences: penalties, replacement offsets, and limits on continuing harm. No quiet deals. No slipping through.
Submissions close this Friday 30 January 2026
https://consult.dcceew.gov.au/natl-environmental-standards-mnes
✨@KeeponshiningWA
This is our chance to stop “fast-track approvals” turning into fast-track environmental damage, and it takes 5 minutes.
The Federal Government is rewriting Australia’s National Environmental Standards right now. These are the rules that decide whether projects must properly protect our local bush, wetlands, waterways, wildlife and farming country — or whether “consultants and offsets” become the easy way out.
Important: there are TWO separate submission portals.
If you only submit once, your feedback could miss the right form.
Portal 1: Main rules MNES (what developers must prove before approval)
Portal 2: Offsets (the “we’ll fix it somewhere else” rules)
You don’t need to be an expert. A short, honest local submission counts. Feel free to copy/paste below and use your own words...
TEMPLATE (Portal 1) Main rules - Matters of National Environmental Significance
I’m writing as a local who cares deeply about where we live. Our environment here isn’t a blank space on a map. It’s the bush, the wetlands, the waterways, the wildlife, and the farms that support families and community.
The national standards must be strong and enforceable. Please make the key rules mandatory. If a developer doesn’t have the basic information, they should not get a green light.
No more approvals based on missing studies or “we’ll do it later.” Developers should be required to do proper local surveys first (right season, proper effort, clear methods) and the results should be transparent.
Make avoidance the first rule: if a project can’t avoid sensitive areas, habitat and threatened species, it should be redesigned, moved, scaled back or refused.
The standards must also require decision-makers to look at cumulative impacts (multiple projects over time), not just assess one project in isolation.
We need transparency and accountability: publish the baseline data, the conditions, the monitoring, and what happens when conditions are breached.
TEMPLATE (Portal 2) - Offsets rules
Offsets must not become a “pay-to-damage” system where nature is traded away and locals are told it’s fine because something will be “restored” somewhere else.
Offsets should only be allowed after a project proves it has avoided and reduced harm as much as possible. If a developer can’t show real due diligence up front, they should not be allowed to rely on offsets to get approval.
If offsets are used, they must be real and measurable and checked over time, not promises. There should be a public offsets register showing: where the offset is, what it’s meant to achieve, monitoring results, and whether it is actually working.
And if corporations or developers get it wrong, if they cut corners, don’t do proper studies, or an offset fails, there must be real consequences: penalties, replacement offsets, and limits on continuing harm. No quiet deals. No slipping through.
Submissions close this Friday 30 January 2026
https://consult.dcceew.gov.au/natl-environmental-standards-mnes
✨@KeeponshiningWA
Forwarded from Andrew for WA
Complete the survey before 15th Feb to let them know your thoughts on Multiculturalism in WA https://www.omi.wa.gov.au/wa-multicultural-act-development
Sun 22nd at Topolinis 💛
Free entry, no bookings required and everyone welcome 😉
See you there!
✨@Keeponshining
Free entry, no bookings required and everyone welcome 😉
See you there!
✨@Keeponshining
Matilda Bay is under threat. A new electric ferry project wants to build infrastructure (including a jetty and massive batteries) at the A-class reserve. Show your support to move this dock to a non A-class area of the Swan Estuary shore.
✨@KeeponshiningWA
✨@KeeponshiningWA
👍1
Forwarded from Tom Hawkins
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
What sort of country has secret police who, without even needing a warrant from a judge, can interrogate 14 year old children?
Your country, Australia! Stop the bill to make these police state powers permanent.
https://info.citizensparty.org.au/repeal-asio-powers?
What you can do:
▪️ Sign the petition at:
https://info.citizensparty.org.au/repeal-asio-powers?
▪️ Email your federal Member of Parliament, and the Coalition, One Nation and Independent Senators from your state, to demand they reject the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2025 No. 2.
▪️ Follow up emails with a phone call to their office.
▪️ Forward this message on social media and encourage your friends and contacts to sign the petition.
To find contact details for senators and members go to:
Australian Parliament House
https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Senators
Select state
Click on name below photo
Your country, Australia! Stop the bill to make these police state powers permanent.
https://info.citizensparty.org.au/repeal-asio-powers?
What you can do:
▪️ Sign the petition at:
https://info.citizensparty.org.au/repeal-asio-powers?
▪️ Email your federal Member of Parliament, and the Coalition, One Nation and Independent Senators from your state, to demand they reject the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2025 No. 2.
▪️ Follow up emails with a phone call to their office.
▪️ Forward this message on social media and encourage your friends and contacts to sign the petition.
To find contact details for senators and members go to:
Australian Parliament House
https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Senators
Select state
Click on name below photo
👍1
Forwarded from MXS 8:32🇦🇺
Template Victim-Impact-Statement .docx
45 KB
Has THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT harmed you , please tell your testimony here on the Victim Impact Statement Then we go to courts internationally to gain court decisions to bring justice to our land . see this document and www.corruptiowhistleblower.com for more info
BUNBURY FISHING BAN RALLY
Monday 16/2/26 at 5PM
Casuarina Boat Harbour Bunbury commercial fuel jetty area.
Please come and show your support in person!
*Guest speakers
*Complimentary Bronzie Burgers
*Complimentary refreshments
*Best banner cash prize ($500 1st, $250 2nd, $100 3rd)
*$300 Seafood hamper raffle (each attendee goes into draw) (write name on ticket)
*Collecting donations.
*Sharkman handing out lollies for the kids.
*Local tackle shops are invited.
*Media is invited.
*WAFIC is invited.
*Politicians are invited.
AIM: To show support for reversing or ceasing the commercial & recreational fishing ban the day before parliament goes back.
These things can’t happen with dodgy science!
Everyone with a trailer boat is welcome to launch and raft up against the jetty where the stage will be set up. Welcome to just show up and keep it on the trailer in the car park too!
Everyone is welcome! (Get in touch if you want to speak on the stage)
5pm after work so less excuses 💪🏻
✨@KeeponshiningWA
Monday 16/2/26 at 5PM
Casuarina Boat Harbour Bunbury commercial fuel jetty area.
Please come and show your support in person!
*Guest speakers
*Complimentary Bronzie Burgers
*Complimentary refreshments
*Best banner cash prize ($500 1st, $250 2nd, $100 3rd)
*$300 Seafood hamper raffle (each attendee goes into draw) (write name on ticket)
*Collecting donations.
*Sharkman handing out lollies for the kids.
*Local tackle shops are invited.
*Media is invited.
*WAFIC is invited.
*Politicians are invited.
AIM: To show support for reversing or ceasing the commercial & recreational fishing ban the day before parliament goes back.
These things can’t happen with dodgy science!
Everyone with a trailer boat is welcome to launch and raft up against the jetty where the stage will be set up. Welcome to just show up and keep it on the trailer in the car park too!
Everyone is welcome! (Get in touch if you want to speak on the stage)
5pm after work so less excuses 💪🏻
✨@KeeponshiningWA
🔥1