Cash Distribution Framework Bill 2026, Cash Distribution Framework (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2026

Senator McDONALD (Queensland—Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate) (19:57): I feel well versed and well qualified to talk about cash and the economy, having run a significant-size multistore retail operation in Queensland. I take note of so many of the points that have been made in this debate, though I will call out One Nation taking credit for the removal of the government's bill on cash as being complete fantasy.

But, that aside, cash is not an outdated relic of the past. It is a significant part of our economy. It's legal tender, and it's particularly important for parts of the world that are offline, that don't have internet connection or wi-fi coverage, that need to be able to transact.

I think, most recently, of the Quamby Rodeo, where a significant amount of cash was taken—more than a significant amount—in order to allow that community to enjoy gathering together and the buying of drink tickets, food and so forth. It is only with the opportunity that cash provides that that can still go ahead. I was more recently in Richmond when the Telstra mobile tower failed, and vendors were unable to make transactions because the EFTPOS machines and terminals didn't work.

Of course, there's the bigger example of floods and cyclones, where right across Queensland, certainly, we have examples of where there is no digital ability to transact. For those reasons, these requirements to be able to receive cash and to use it are absolutely critical. Certainly, in north and far western Queensland, people are quite used to having to store an amount of cash in order to get through those sorts of natural disasters, whether it be for fuel or food.

I notice, though, that this legislation, the Cash Distribution Framework Bill 2026, has a massive oversight in not allowing for medicines to be paid for using cash. And, of course, the matching part of this debate is not just the ability of people to get cash out but how we manage the requirement for business to take it. Despite cash being legal tender, there are many businesses that are now trying not to take cash at all—and I have some sympathy.

You have to have an arrangement that's secure, to be able to get cash from your premises to a bank, and that— Debate interrupted.