Media Release

Member for Kennedy Bob Katter is enthusiastically supporting the United Retail Federation’s proposal for a government-backed small business bank to bring competition to the banking sector.

Mr Katter was one of the two ministers responsible for the State Bank of Queensland (QIDC) success story.

“The concept of a people-owned bank provides the only benchmark that can really be provided to keep the major banks honest,” Mr Katter said.

“They are able to help people in trouble through no fault of their own, where their businesses have long-term viability.

“We ran the QIDC at 2 per cent above the RBA rate and made money – an embarrassing amount of money.

“Every single state had a government-backed bank and the Commonwealth had four.

“They’ve sold off every single one of those people’s bank and benchmark mechanism so they could give lollipops at election time.

“In 1996, all the banks’ CEOs were making salaries under $750,000. According to the newspapers, these salaries now range from $8.5 million to $13 million. This can only be described as ‘obscene’.

“These banks operate under a government guarantee and have unlimited power to bleed the public.

“Small business is floundering under the weight of the big four. I will be speaking with the other independents on a key program to inject real competition into the banking sector.”