QUEENSLAND Nationals Senator Barry O'Sullivan has invited Australian Bankers Association (ABA) chief executive officer Steven Munchenberg to "roll out his swag for a couple of days" and hear first-hand the true extent of the Queensland rural debt crisis.
In a letter sent to Mr Munchenberg on Tuesday, Mr O'Sullivan invited the ABA chief to join him on a tour of rural Queensland in the coming weeks.
Mr O'Sullivan said the banking industry representative would be afforded the opportunity to listen to graziers who were confronting increasing debt stress.
"I am willing to set aside any part of my calendar outside of parliamentary sittings to take Mr Munchenberg on this tour," he said.
"We will hold meetings with landholders from the north to the south-west and in between.
"Mr Munchenberg will be provided every opportunity to discuss the experiences of farmers with their rural lenders. My office will organise these meetings - I simply ask that Mr Munchenberg gives a commitment to accompanying us."
Mr O'Sullivan extended the invitation to the ABA after Mr Munchenberg questioned the "usefulness" of the QRAA Rural Debt Survey in a statement to Queensland Country Life earlier this month.
"The banks also have reservations that the survey does not have broad-based coverage; there are some inconsistencies in data reporting and also in aggregation of data; there are other data integrity issues; and the data are dated by the time it is released."
But Mr O'Sullivan said it was "irresponsible" of the finance sector to dismiss repeated on-the-ground warnings that rural communities were facing economic decline.
"There have been warning signs for years that farmers were facing debt stress, and the message I am hearing loud and clear is they want and need urgent action.
"In order to deliver relevant public policy, it is imperative that we gather the essential information to understand the true extent of debt profiles across western and northern Queensland."
Mr O'Sullivan said he would use his planned statewide tour in the coming weeks to continue his pressure on the banks to participate in the debt survey.
"I have extended a fair and reasonable invitation to Mr Munchenberg. I have also repeatedly spoken about the importance of the banking sector's participation in the rural debt survey process.
"If they fail to respond accordingly, I will have no option than to investigate what powers and measures are at the disposal of government to force their hands.
"With events in the financial sector in recent weeks, I am sure the banking sector won't want government ferreting through their filing draws and wheelie bins."