00:00For many in this community, cash is king, but in a month's time, the last bank in town
00:10is closing its doors.
00:11The Bendigo Bank is supposed to be the community bank, so funny enough we would have expected
00:16them to take a little bit more notice about us before they made that unilateral decision.
00:22Ian Robertson runs the West Coast Wilderness Railway.
00:25With cafes in Queenstown and in Strawn, as well as the train service, he is worried about
00:30what the closure will mean for the business.
00:32And had they engaged with us, then they would have found out that we did have some very real
00:36concerns and how it will impact us, and there's a cost implication to the business as well.
00:41When the branch closes, the post office across the road will fill the void.
00:44When the Bendigo goes, we've got a two, two and a half hour run to any bank, with limited
00:50services at the post office and things like that.
00:53That's a post office for letters and parcels, not a bank.
00:56It's not just businesses who are worried about the bank's closure.
00:59We're devastated about it.
01:01I'm 73 and I don't do internet banking and stuff like that.
01:07You just can't pop in and get some advice or talk to someone over the counter.
01:14Very disappointing.
01:16Local state and federal representatives have jointly called on Bendigo Bank to stand by the community
01:21here in Queenstown and keep the branch open.
01:24Bendigo Bank says it didn't make the decision lightly, but fewer customers are using branches
01:28to do their banking.
01:29A reduction in business activity and an increase in costs to Bendigo have also played a part.
01:35Since the announcement though, many in the community have been trying hard to convince
01:39the bank to stay.
01:40Anything's possible until it's not.
01:44We're hoping that we may be able to entice the Bendigo Bank to change their views.
01:48Despite the community opposition, the bank is on track to permanently close on the 26th of
01:52September.
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