Briefing: Campaign on The Right to Transact
ABIB launches an email campaign enabling Australians to contact Senator Katy Gallagher, Minister for Finance, with a principled message: Banks educate, Police investigate, Australians decide.
Australians across the country report being treated with suspicion when attempting lawful Bitcoin transactions—facing invasive questioning, and being pressured by Banking staff not to proceed, despite transactions being lawful transactions and not being related to scams. This unreasoned behaviour by banking staff, driven by asymmetric accountability policies and laws, continues to eat away at the trust Australians have in the financial system, undermining autonomy, dignity, and privacy, putting the banks at odds with how they present themselves in advertising, as protectors of Australians.
The campaign template makes the case that:
Banks educate – That they should be providing customers with clear, standardised resources that explain risks and responsibilities. That banks must not be made the gatekeeper of personal finances.
Police investigate – That it be the role of law enforcement to investigate, and pursue instigators of scams; that banks should not be informally deputised private-sector police.
Australians decide – That lawful payments must not be blocked or delayed at a bank’s discretion.
The email urges Senator Gallagher to raise the issue with the Banking Association and back reforms that enshrine these principles, ensuring Australians can rely on banks as service providers—not moral arbiters of personal choice.
This campaign is part of ABIB’s mission to defend open access to Bitcoin, advocate for the right to transact, and restore confidence that Australia’s financial system serves the public, not the other way around.
You can participate through this link – Template E-Mail to Katy Gallagher on Right to Transact
