Petition begun to prevent closure of Inglewood NAB branch

Customers in the southern Queensland community were stunned last week to discover theirs was the latest in a long line of closures either undertaken or planned by the NAB.

Both Inglewood and Mitchell NAB branches will close on October 19 at this stage, after both had their opening hours reduced.

Shelley Rielly has accused the bank's executive of putting greed and profit before customers, "the people that make these huge percentages for the bank", in the petition she has started to try and prevent the closure.

"With a statutory net profit of $6,891m for 2022, up 8.3 per cent from 2021 - this is quoted from your bank, centred around an 'enduring ambition to improve the outcomes for customers and colleagues' - closure of another branch is far from this quote," she said.

One of the hurtful aspects of the closure for Ms Rielly was that as a NAB customer all her life, she wasn't notified, either personally or through the business.

"Once the NAB was an establishment that would provide a personal service to clients big or small," she said in the preamble to her petition.

"Sadly, this has become non-existent for most.

"Options are to now travel hours in a vehicle, costing individuals more, or they have to hang on the end of phone for long periods of time, only to be cut off.

"This I have experienced more than once, taking my frustration levels to boiling point.

"I certainly, like thousands of others in the rural community, do not have the luxury of this wasted time."

Ms Rielly also questions the bank's claim of falling in-branch visitation as one of the reasons for its closure, saying that never once in all her years had she been able to walk straight up to a counter to be served, thanks to a line-up of customers.

"Your claim of not enough 'in-store' custom is unfounded," she said, adding that the closure of the NAB branch at Texas branch had exacerbated that.

"You have forced them to travel more than 100 kilometres round trip to do their banking," she said.

The petition also cites intermittent internet services and power outages as impediments to banking via the internet.

She said NAB's alternatives - internet banking, telephone banking, and ATM usage, were impractical for those without reliable internet access, who have hearing impairments or who are unable to drive the 160 kilometres to the nearest ATM located at Millmerran.

"Many residents in Inglewood are elderly or have limited mobility, and the closure will deprive them of essential banking services," she said.

"The lack of consideration for the community's needs and the challenges the closure will present to the elderly residents is unreasonable.

"NAB is leaving the community in a vulnerable position when it comes to managing their finances."

Despite NAB's suggestion that Australia Post can serve both personal and business banking, local postmaster Gary Strain pointed out a significant hurdle for the older population in Inglewood.

"Many of them do not possess bank cards required for transactions," he said.

"Some of our older residents still rely on chequebooks, and without a bank card, using the banking facility here at Australia Post becomes impossible.

"Unlike a bank, we lack the capability to access personal information by providing an account number."

While this new development is expected to increase the workload at the post office, Mr Strain said they have already been accommodating NAB customers for some time.

"Another issue is that local businesses have raised concerns regarding coin floats," he said.

Ms Rielly, who owns Greenup Meeting Place camping ground and CCs Cafe located at Coolmunda Dam, said challenges with cash availability and coin floats could affect the day-to-day operations of local businesses.

"The option to bank at our local Australia Post outlet has its limitations," she said. "The post office cannot handle identification checks or large transactions and has imposed limits by the banks on cash withdrawals that are impractical and insufficient for the needs of businesses and individuals."

Ms Rielly's goal is to reach 5000 signatures on the petition.

"I want the Goondiwindi regional community, local politicians and our federal MP, and NAB representatives to engage in conversations to find a solution that preserves essential banking services in Inglewood," she said. "The closure's impact on the lives of rural residents should not be underestimated. We need to work collaboratively to find a suitable solution."