By David Dixon

Cash is still king in many regional and rural areas of NSW, with Federal Member for Calare Andrew Gee trying to give locals the option of keeping it that way.

Despite last week's announcement by Dubbo Regional Council that all of its waste facilities and transfer stations, including the garbage tips at Wellington and Dubbo, will be cashless from July “to reduce property damage and increase staff efficiency”, Mr Gee wants to make such edicts illegal.

The Independent former National Party member, along with Member for Kennedy in Queensland, Bob Katter, have introduced the Keeping Cash Transactions in Australia Bill 2024 to the Parliament, saying that the move aims to preserve the use of cash in our national economy.

“Many people across both my electorate of Calare, and around our great country, hold concerns and fears that the use of cash for transactions in Australia is being phased out and will soon disappear,” Mr Gee said.

“Shockingly, while the law provides that bank notes and coins are legal tender, there is currently no legal requirement for bank notes or coins to be accepted for transactions in Australia,” he added.

Waste facilities within Calare, including at Wellington, Stuart Town and Geurie, will be covered by the new Dubbo Regional Council card-only rule, with Mr Gee claiming that such decisions discriminate against country people.

“Not everyone is able to use online banking services. Many people, including senior Australians, find managing accounts and cards online to be stressful and confusing.

“Cash is often used in rural areas by people who do not have ready access to banking services or reliable internet access. Likewise, cash transactions are unaffected by digital failures (and so) cash is vital during outages or disasters,” Mr Gee said.

He said that keeping cash in our economy was all about economic independence from the large commercial institutions that most benefit from a cashless society.

“Using cards often means facing additional fees and surcharges, giving up your privacy, and dealing with the risk of fraud.

“Australians should have a choice as to how to spend their hard-earned dollars,” Mr Gee said.

The Keeping Cash Transactions in Australia Bill would legislate that businesses operating in face-to-face settings must accept cash payments for transactions that do not exceed $10,000.

Mr Gee called on all Members of the House of Representatives to vote in favour of the Bill, with a meeting scheduled with the Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers over the proposal.

“The Keeping Cash Transactions in Australia Bill is all about freedom – the freedom for Australians to choose how they will pay for transactions.

“It's about preserving the essence of choice in our financial transactions – not having that choice made for us by financial institutions or businesses,” Mr Gee concluded.