The Coalition will introduce a Bill expanding protections for Australians who prefer using cash, warning current protections implemented by Labor do not go far enough.<\/p>\n
The Albanese government\u2019s cash mandate, which kicked in from January 1, requires most retailers to take cash for in\u2011person transactions of up to $500 from 7am and 9pm.<\/p>\n
But the opposition argues the rules \u201cleave out essential goods\u201d, such as medicine, clothing and hardware supplies.<\/p>\n
The Cash is King Bill would force major retailers to take cash, lift the transaction limit from $2000 and scrap the 7am-9pm restrictions.<\/p>\n
It would also require commonwealth agencies to follow the same rules and offer carve outs for small businesses facing \u201cgenuine safety risks\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you walk into a shop with a fifty-dollar note, you shouldn\u2019t be turned away. That shouldn\u2019t be controversial,\u201d opposition financial services spokesman Kevin Hogan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can use cash to buy groceries, why can\u2019t you use it to buy medicine, clothes or a meal?\u201d<\/p>\n
His electorate encompasses NSW\u2019s Northern Rivers region, where devastating floods have in recent years cut power to swathes of the area, taking digital payment methods down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the floods hit the Northern Rivers, cash was the only thing that worked,\u201d Mr Hogan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s exactly why it needs to be protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also called it the \u201cultimate check on payment fees\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralians should be able to choose how they pay, without being forced into a cashless economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCash is king, and under the Coalition we won\u2019t see it overthrown.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cash as a payment method has dropped off a cliff over the past decade.<\/p>\n
But roughly 1.5 million Australians still prefer using cash to digital payments and some in remote parts of the vast continent it is the only viable option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Coalition will introduce a Bill expanding protections for Australians who prefer using cash, warning current protections implemented…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":940690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[507596,507609,507621,4219,507599,437586,507608,401948,507625,378328,507622,507605,64,63,9461,1018,13884,99,358157,8879,507614,84522,507606,27305,507613,507623,507600,507597,207,507604,507611,2722,396549,507598,214154,7145,507594,1788,426264,1679,507612,394669,180257,2733,507620,507616,6091,28313,380174,507601,507615,3329,20598,460258,507603,507610,378344,377706,161703,507602,380914,507624,406354,507617,392791,507595,379294,432321,507607,507619,507618],"class_list":["post-940689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-s-bill","tag-s-cash-mandate","tag-s-northern-rivers-region","tag-4219","tag-7am-and-9pm-but","tag-a-bill","tag-a-cashless-economy","tag-a-cliff","tag-a-fifty-dollar-note","tag-a-meal","tag-a-payment-method","tag-a-shop","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australians","tag-big","tag-bill","tag-business","tag-carve-outs","tag-cash","tag-cash-and-coins","tag-clothes","tag-clothing-and-hardware-supplies-the","tag-coalition","tag-commonwealth-agencies","tag-current-protections","tag-devastating-floods","tag-digital-payment-methods","tag-digital-payments","tag-essential-goods","tag-genuine-safety-risks","tag-groceries","tag-his-electorate","tag-in-person-transactions","tag-january-1","tag-king","tag-king-bill","tag-labor","tag-major-retailers","tag-medicine","tag-most-retailers","tag-mr-hogan","tag-newswire-politics","tag-nsw","tag-opposition-financial-services-spokesman-kevin-hogan","tag-payment-fees","tag-power","tag-protections","tag-recent-years","tag-remote-parts","tag-roughly-1-5-million-australians","tag-small-businesses","tag-steps","tag-swathes","tag-the-ultimate-check","tag-the-7am-9pm-restrictions-it","tag-the-albanese-government","tag-the-area","tag-the-coalition","tag-the-floods","tag-the-job","tag-the-northern-rivers","tag-the-only-thing","tag-the-only-viable-option","tag-the-opposition","tag-the-past-decade-but","tag-the-rules","tag-the-same-rules","tag-the-transaction-limit","tag-the-vast-continent","tag-up-to-500"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=940689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/940690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=940689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=940689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=940689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}