The accelerating move towards a cashless society in Australia will erode our freedoms, remove our right to privacy and make it a lot easier for a malevolent power to bring our country to its knees, writes Caleb Bond.
Katter’s Australian Party’s Bob Katter has warned that if Australia gives the banks a “no cash society,” then they control “every aspect of your lives”.
“It is a freedom battle,” he told Sky News host Chris Kenny.
“Up here in North Queensland, I’m very proud of my fellow North Queenslanders because we’ve had a number of anti-cashless rallies.”
That’s the point at which progression actually turns into regression – and that’s where we’re about to land with cash.
The march towards a cashless society isn’t new.
But we’re reaching the point of no return, where using cash will become virtually impossible and anyone wanting to participate in society will have to use a card in all circumstances.
Stepmates Studios Founder Mark Nicholson has raised concerns with Macquarie Bank going cashless as Australia “used to be the envy of the world” for its bank notes.
The bank plans to ditch the use of cash this month.
“We used to be the pride of the world,” Mr Nicholson told Sky News host Chris Kenny.
“It was plastic, it didn’t rip – you could put them in the wash.
“I’m kind of sad to see them go – hands off my money, Macquarie.”
It’s so bad that the preposterous concept of a cash surcharge is not beyond the realms of possibility.
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission this week gave permission for the big four banks – ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac – and retailers Wesfarmers, Coles, Woolworths and Australia Post to give cash transport company Armaguard $50 million over the next year.
Coins and notes have to be moved around the country and there’s only one business that does it.
Thanks to the declining use of cash, Armaguard is now struggling to transport cash at a reasonable price, leaving it on the verge of collapse.
If that continues, and businesses have to keep subsidising Armaguard to maintain its services, then that cost could be passed on to the consumer – in much the same way transaction fees charged by banks for card payments are often paid by customers.
It sounds crazy but what other choice is there?
Mobile wallet use – that is, people using their smartphones in place of a credit or debit card – jumped 35 per cent in the past year, according to the Australian Banking Association.
The amount of money spent by people tapping their phones surpassed cash withdrawals from ATMs for the first time, at $126 billion and $105 billion respectively.
The accelerating move towards a cashless society in Australia will erode our freedoms, remove our right to privacy and make it a lot easier for a malevolent power to bring our country to its knees, writes Caleb Bond. Picture: File image
Much of this is driven by the consumer.
People like the convenience of card over cash.
But once cash is gone you won’t get it back – and you’ll be locked into a world of constantly traceable data.
Your bank already knows you better than you know yourself.
Where you go, when you go, how often you buy a pint at the pub.
That’s highly valuable – and hackable.
Cash is freedom.
No one else can touch it (unless someone breaks into your house).
It’s not in a bank account that can be shut down or restricted.
Sky News host Rowan Dean has urged Australians to “get cash moving again”.
The social media campaign “Draw Out Some Cash Day” is set to run on Tuesday, April 2 – encouraging Australians to withdraw cash from ATMs in protest of the move to a cashless society.
“Cash equals freedom … they are doing everything to push us into this digital CBC world,” Mr Dean said.
“Which is absolutely a prison – basically a technological prison.
“Get your cash out on Tuesday, let’s show them we still love cash.”
What happens when the internet or power goes out?
Trade stops.
If you want to bring a country to its knees you simply need to eliminate cash and then attack its power grid.
They’d be left helpless.
If nothing else convinces you to keep cash afloat, what happens when you want to buy something without your wife knowing?
The only way to stop this is to keep using cash.
And do it now.
As Joni Mitchell once sang, don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?
Caleb Bond is a columnist at SkyNews.com.au and co-host of The Late Debate at 10pm Monday to Thursday on Sky News Australia.