Greens Candidate for Eden-Monaro Catherine Moore is calling on the major parties to back Greens legislation currently before the Senate that would provide mortgage and financial relief to struggling Australians by placing a cap on mortgage profiteering by the banks and make bank fees fairer.
"I urge all political parties to support The Greens' legislation to cap the profits that banks can make from families struggling with mortgage debt and stress," said Catherine.
Senator Bob Brown introduced the Banking Amendment (Delivering Essential Financial Services for the Community) Bill to ensure mortgage relief and improve fairness within the banking system.
Voluntary regulation is not working. We need legislation to cap the profits of banks, such as Westpac's $2.8 billion half-year profit.
The big four banks are making billions of dollars in profits, yet the average Australian is paying around $1000 in bank fees every year.
The Greens' bill would require banks to offer fixed-gap mortgages, where the interest rate rises and falls in line with bank charges from a base rate.
A fixed-gap mortgage would protect customers from interest rate fluctuations that are not genuinely caused by changes to the bankís operating costs.
The Greens' bill would require banks to clearly advertise any mortgage exit fees, which must accurately reflect reasonable cost, and must not deter the borrower from changing lenders or exiting early.
The bill would require banks to offer fee-free services and access to basic credit card services, and would ban penalties for ATM withdrawal fees.
"The Greens, through Senator Bob Brown, are attempting to advance the consumer rights of families with mortgages and trying to keep the banks honest. I urge the other Eden-Monaro candidates to lobby within their party to give support to The Greens' bill," concluded Catherine.