Banks hush up about foreclosure blitz

Father Matt Moloney, the priest in charge at St Brigid's Catholic Parish at Longreach, said his phone had been ringing off the hook since he had spoken out about what he described as "unfair" action by banking representatives.

"People have been thanking me for standing up and saying something," he said.

"They are often afraid to speak out because things are so delicate and they're afraid of upsetting the balance.

"The reality is, banks are foreclosing and they're doing it at a terrible time."

Father Moloney, who grew up on a property west of Longreach, now says the statistics he quoted are merely the tip of the iceberg, after fielding calls from around the state.

"People have rung from north of Longreach down to Roma. It's happening not just here - it's happening on the Granite Belt.

"I was talking to a parishioner at Gogango (near Rockhampton) who told me people on eight places around him were being forced off.

"There are people on properties out there living on Weet-Bix and noodles."

His comments are backed up by Remote Area Planning and Development Board general manager Dave Arnold (pictured), who oversees one of the state's rural financial counselling (RFC) services.

"Our RFCs have been, and are, engaged in assisting about 110 debt-mediation clients over the past 12 to 18 months," he said.

"This has steadily climbed over the past five years and we don't expect it to ease back.

"Not every person facing bank foreclosure seeks assistance from an RFC, so these figures would not necessarily reflect what is happening in agriculture."

The central west region took a further blow this week when the Australian Financial Security Authority released personal insolvency statistics for the past year that put Ilfracombe at the top of the list for the highest proportion of bankruptcies in the state.

Out of a population of 240 adults, three cases of bankruptcy were recorded.

Longreach Regional Council Mayor Joe Owens cautioned against small numbers skewing the result, saying this could be the result of one business with three adults, but said it helped emphasise how bad things were.

"It might make people stop and think now," he said.

Cr Owens said he believed most rural properties in his area had financial difficulties of one kind or another.

If Father Moloney had added businesses in towns to his number being foreclosed on, it could be an even more telling statistic.

Despite this, he said council was not seeing greater numbers of people unable to pay their rates.

"People are coming in to ask for terms, and we encourage them to do that," he said.

Father Moloney said a warning signal of action to come was banks moving staff and managers on from a town.

"Managers are being moved on so the banks can prepare for the hatchet job to come," he said.

"Why take out all staff unless there are foreclosures on the cards?

"Otherwise, you would keep them as long as possible to help people stay."

He felt decisions to foreclose were being driven from offices in southern capitals after assessing people's answers to questions on paper.

"I'm hearing they are asking questions like, 'When are you selling your stock and how much will you get for them?'

"How can people know answers to things like that at this stage of a drought?"

Father Moloney said "enough bloody papers were being written -of every colour".

He called on the government to allow people to sign an affidavit to say nothing had changed with their circumstances, to circumvent a maze of paperwork and allow people to access assistance.

"At the moment there are fears of 100 cows on agistment or people getting outside jobs - it's all making it impossible for people."

Similar comments had been made when Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited Longreach, Father Moloney said, and yet there was still inaction.

"Government underwrote every financial institution during the financial crisis - the issues out here are only a drop in the financial ocean compared to that.

"Why doesn't the government do anything - do the banks wield too much power over them?"

He said he would continue to speak out on behalf of people with no voice.

ANZ state agribusiness manager Jeff Schrale told Queensland Country Life that every bank had stressed assets, which they would continue to support on a case-by-case basis.

"Banks have been reasonable corporate citizens to this point in time," he said.

"We've supported the industry for a long time and we realise it's a cyclic game.

"There's a lot of confidence in beef and we want to support the right people."