AHA: pub ATMs to replace rural banks - News - Business

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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AHA: pub ATMs to replace rural banks

By Andrew Colley, 0
April 05, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/AHA-pub-ATMs-to-replace-rural-banks/0,139023166,120264409,00.htm

The Australian Hotels Association claims that pub ATMs may soon be the only banking services available to rural residents and urged the government to ignore calls to remove them from hotels.

The plea, which comes just days after National Australia Bank announced that it would close more country branches, will place pressure on the government to reject the plight of groups seeking to curb problem gambling.

"With the closure of banks, post offices and other essential services, hotels are often the only service provider left standing in many rural towns," said AHA national executive director, Richard Mulcahy.

In making its case the AHA said that there was no evidence that removing ATMs from pubs would assist those with gambling problems and asked the government to weigh the impact of doing so.

"It's a fanciful argument to suggest that removing ATMs will remove the problems," said AHA spokesperson Simon Birmingham.

Coupling that argument, Mulchay said "...with the ongoing closure of banks, it would clearly disadvantage thousands of country Australians who rely on ATMs in hotels as their sole banking source."

Reverend Chester Carter, president of the NSW Council on Problem Gambling, said the association is taking a narrow view of the problem to justify keeping ATMs in hotels and clubs.

"I understand the difficulties faced by the rural communities concerning essential services. After spending 17 years in small country communities I think I can pose other options," Carter said.

Reverend Carter manages Wesley Mission's gambling counselling service and he challenged the association's position that there is no proof that removing pub ATMs would assist problem gamblers.

"For many country people its probably alright to visit the local for a drink or a meal but, for the problem gambler, access to ready cash and poker machines is a deadly mix," he said.

According to Carter, one strategy that counsellors use in cases of problem gambling is to make the sufferer open a passbook account instead of a cash-card account.

"This will seem harder [for sufferers in rural regions] with bank closures but Post Officers will still be available to offer banking transactions with most major banks," he said.