The residents of Far North Queensland’s Cassowary Coast region have launched a boisterous campaign to end its controversial cashless policy, which has silenced those who prefer to pay cash for small purchases such as a $2 coffee. Just one year after the policy was enacted without any community consultation, residents are now asking the region’s council CEO Andrew Graffen to reintroduce cash payments.
The cashless policy has been met with scorn and dismay by residents, who feel their ability to pay with cash has been taken away from them without their input or consent. The policy was also seen by some as a cynical money-saving scheme, as it eliminated the need for the council to pay staff to provide cash-handling services.
The council’s cashless policy has rendered physical money unusable at council facilities such as the library, the council office for in-person payments, council-organised events, the upcoming reopened swimming pool, and any other council-backed operations.
Garozzo, event organiser for the Cassowary Coast Action Network, stated the decision to abolish cash was based only on the opinion of Mr Graffen and that the findings indicated that only nine percent of local people still relied on it.
