We talk about national security a lot here at ADVANCE.

There’s the Chinese Communist Party.

There’s our high energy prices and helpless reliance on imports for critical manufactured goods.

But there's a hidden threat that doesn’t get the attention it should.

It’s the banks...and they're only getting worse.

This week, Bank Australia announced it will stop offering loans for new petrol and diesel cars by 2025 as part of an aggressive approach to combat climate change.

By doing so, Bank Australia says, “we are sending a signal to the Australian market about the rapid acceleration in the transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles we expect to see in the next few years.”

Bank Australia’s decision comes after:

• ANZ decided to refuse funding to the Port of Newcastle – the world’s largest coal export port - as part of its climate change policy
• The Commonwealth Bank said those living near a “fossil fuel value chain” like the Hunter or Bowen region will face increased “risk of indirect employment” and a reduction in “broader economic value, including residential property values…as a result of a significant reduction in global coal demand.”
• Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Guy Debelle declared that “to date, we have only isolated examples of divestment from Australia because of climate risk, but the likelihood of more significant divestment is increasing”
• Whitehaven Coal raised up to $1 billion in bonds from Asian debt markets because of a lack of financial support by climate-obsessed Australian banks
• Shareholder and boardroom activists pressured BHP to sell two Bowen Basin coal mines to a Chinese-owned company so it can meet the company’s target to divest from coal by 2023

The message from Australia’s bankers…the same people who have the right to print money out of thin air and charge interest on it?

Well, if you want a car loan for a Hilux, no dice. You’ll have to buy a Tesla, mate.

If you want to develop one of Australia’s largest ports in a coal-mining region, you’ll have to go to the Chinese Communist Party for finance…which will, of course, come with strings attached.

If you’re a miner in the Hunter of the Bowen Basin, prepare for higher rates on your mortgage due to the risk of “a significant reduction in global coal demand” reducing “residential property values”.

And if you’re a coal company, you’ll have to go offshore for finance even though millions of Australians would be more than happy for their savings to be invested in an extremely profitable venture like Whitehaven Coal.

As Sam Kennard, the CEO of Kennard’s Storage, wrote recently:

“Many publicly listed businesses have embraced the woke ideas that the left-leaning political agenda promote. As a result, careerist board directors and executives are exposed to activism and will find it safer to acquiesce than to push back.”

He said there was less innovation and more compliance in corporate leadership today, noting that some business leaders appeared to be “embarrassed about free markets and capitalism.”

“Yet, capitalism has been the best poverty relief program in world history. Hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty over recent decades from trade and capitalism,” he said.

“Businesses seem more engaged with symbols of virtue in their public discourse. There seem to be more conferences with significant environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics and little advocacy for economic reform.”

Good on you, mate!

Australia’s bankers need to be set straight once and for all.