Plans to remove cash as legal tender in Australia
We thought you should be let in on the secret
STOP PRESS:
The deadline to make your submission has been extended by a week to close of business this Friday. Yesterday, noting that my Federal Labor member had failed to tell us about this matter, I rang to advise her of the extended date so she could issue a press release. My expectations are low.
The Issue
The Federal Treasurer and his allies plan to introduce changes to regulations that will allow Australian businesses to refuse the acceptance of cash as legal tender.
If these changes go through, all businesses, other than large supermarkets and petrol stations, will have the right to deny you the use of cash. You might have thought there would be significant media debate alerting us to this change.
I have just contacted my local member to be told she is aware of this proposal but a reasonable person might wonder why she has not raised it as an issue with her community. She spends a lot of money on weekly advertisements and newsletters but they make no mention of these plans.
What you can do
If you are in the Blue Mountains / Hawkesbury region that forms the Macquarie electorate, please contact Susan and raise this issue.
If you are outside this area, details for your local representative can be found here:
https://www.aph.gov.au/about_parliament/house_of_representatives.
The easiest way to understand what the government is proposing is to read the Consultation paper from December 2024
MOST IMPORTANTLY, please make a submission.
YOU ONLY HAVE TILL THIS FRIDAY DAYS TO DO IT.
Your submission must be made by 7th November 2025.
The public was notified of these changes on 17th October and we were originally given two weeks to make a submission and to call for a halt to these changes. What is it that has made this matter so urgent? Why is it being rushed through? We might ask why our politicians are so keen to remove cash and in whose interests are they acting?
The Australian public has previously made it clear that we consider cash a vital part of the Australian economic system. This looks like betrayal.