It is disappointing that Bendigo Bank has made the decision to close its agency, two years after it worked closely with the community to open the service.
When the only bank at Beaconsfield closed its doors in 2020, the community really rallied to find a solution to fill the void left by the service.
Beaconsfield H Hardware has done a fantastic job over this time to cater for the community with its good, old-fashioned face to face service.
It is concerning that banks are choosing to abandon rural and regional parts of the state in a bid to make people go online to transact with their money and accounts.
Bendigo Bank has made the decision nationally to close some of its agencies, with Sheffield-Railton District and Port Sorell already closed meaning people will need to travel to visit a branch.
In some instances, these communities are home to a number of ageing Tasmanians with little to no online experience who just want to talk through their concerns face to face with someone they know and trust.
I encourage Bendigo Bank to reconsider its decision to close this agency and provide an exemption to keep this service available to the community.
Janie Finlay MP
Labor Member for Bass
