By Denis Hay
Part 4
Continued from Part 3
Meta Description
Protect cash in Australia to preserve your freedom – learn why it’s vital as programmable money gains ground in Australia.
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Introduction: The Rising Threat to Financial Freedom
If we don’t protect cash, we risk losing the last truly private means of payment. Cash isn’t just paper – it’s power in the hands of the people. As Australia’s Reserve Bank advances trials of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), we’re facing a silent shift toward programmable money. This tool could be used to check, restrict, or even erase your spending power.
In a country with full monetary sovereignty, why are we outsourcing control of our currency to systems that prioritise surveillance and compliance over liberty?
Let’s explore how cash underpins civil liberties… and why protecting cash must be a national priority.
Problem – The Quiet Disappearance of Cash
Cash Usage declining
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, contactless and digital payments have surged, with fewer Australians using physical cash. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, only 13% of all payments in 2022 were made in cash (source: Cash Use and Attitudes in Australia, RBA). Many shops have moved to “card-only” policies, excluding those who rely on physical currency.
The Rise of Programmable Money
CBDCs are not just digital dollars – they can be programmed. This means:
- Where, when, and how your money is spent can be controlled.
- Funds could expire or be restricted to approved merchants or products.
- Governments or corporations could deactivate funds based on behaviour or location.
(Source: ‘Money that can expire’: RBA laying groundwork for a dystopian financial reality where ‘money is given a brain and then the switch is handed to someone else’, Sky News).
Why It Hurts – The Dangers of Losing Cash
Loss of Financial Autonomy
Cash allows you to transact freely, without permission or surveillance. Once digital money is programmable, every transaction could be tracked or regulated, effectively handing the government – or worse, private tech partners – total control over your financial behaviour.
Exclusion and Vulnerability
Removing cash disproportionately affects:
- less tech-savvy Seniors
- Remote and regional communities with limited internet
- People with disabilities or without access to smartphones
- Victims of domestic abuse who rely on cash for private escape planning.
(Source: An Australia with fewer people in financial hardship, Financial Counselling Australia).
A Tool for Economic Coercion
We must protect cash to ensure our financial system works for people, not algorithms.
Programmable money could:
- Penalise “undesirable” spending (e.g. gambling, alcohol)
- Block dissenters or protestors from accessing funds.
- Allow foreign tech infrastructure to control sovereign currency.
Even if these features are sold as “public good,” they can be repurposed for control.
Solution – Why We Must Protect Cash to Preserve Financial Autonomy
Enshrine the Right to Cash in Law
Australia must legislate a permanent right to access and use cash for goods and services. The RBA has already expressed concern about the diminishing availability of ATMs and bank branches. Strong federal protections must ensure:
- No business can refuse legal tender.
- Banks must keep reasonable cash access.
- Government services accept cash payments.
Use Our Dollar Sovereignty for the Public Good
As a sovereign currency issuer, Australia has the power to protect cash for future generations. There is no economic reason to surrender this freedom to digital-only systems driven by private interests or foreign partnerships. Our monetary sovereignty should empower people, not corporations.
Support Ethical Digital Alternatives
Digital transactions aren’t inherently harmful, but they must remain voluntary, anonymous, and free from coercive controls. Public banking options and non-programmable digital cash can coexist with physical money to offer Australians choice and privacy.
Why This Matters
CBDCs may promise convenience, but at the cost of autonomy. Once cash disappears, there is no fallback – every transaction will be recorded, analysed, and possibly restricted by an algorithm. Australia must act now to preserve cash and defend our civil liberties.
Protect cash now – because once it’s gone, we won’t get it back.
It’s time to organise and demand legislation that will protect cash for all Australians.
Reader Engagement Question
Do you feel safer using cash, or do you trust digital systems to protect your freedom?
Q&A Section
Q1: What is programmable money?
Programmable money is a form of digital currency – like a CBDC – where its usage can be pre-set by governments or central banks. This can include when, where, and how it is spent.
Q2: Is cash still legal tender in Australia?
Yes. Cash is still legal tender, but without legislation, businesses can refuse it. Protections are needed to guarantee its ongoing acceptance.
Q3: Why is cash important for democracy?
Cash ensures anonymous, barrier-free access to goods and services. It prevents financial discrimination, preserves privacy, and empowers those without digital access.
Q4: Can CBDCs replace physical cash entirely?
If unchecked, yes. That’s why strong public resistance and legal protections are essential to prevent total replacement.
Q5: What can Australians do to protect cash?
- Support cash-acceptance laws
- Use cash regularly
- Contact MPs to demand they protect cash through legislation
Q6: Is there a campaign to protect cash in Australia?
Yes. Several consumer groups, small business advocates, and digital rights organisations are urging Parliament to protect cash through legislation and education.
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Carol and I use cash whenever we can, though for another reason than those already discussed.
Every coin in our change would go into a large money tin, and as Christmas neared we would throw them into the very entertaining to watch coin counting machine at the bank and deposit the total into my bank account. After 12 months of saving my coins the total would be about $1,000.
There was our Christmas money, without having to strain the budget.
Thanks Michael, what a brilliant and simple way to save!
Stories like yours remind us that cash isn’t just about privacy or independence, it’s also a practical tool for budgeting and discipline.
That end-of-year coin-counting tradition is not only fun, but a smart way to prepare for the holidays without financial stress.
More people could benefit from strategies like this, another great reason why we should protect cash and keep it part of our everyday lives.
You’re welcome, Denis.
I will always remember a State Bank advert in SA many decades ago. A teenager approached his father pleading for help to purchase his first car. The understanding father smiled, and said, “Sure, son. I will help you, just as my father helped me, and I will never forget his advice.”
The young lad smiled.
Then his father handed him a State Bank money tin. Just as his father had given him.
In my last year in the public service – where we handed out Secret Santa gifts (worth about $10 each) at Christmas – I gave someone a money tin. The person who received the gift from their Secret Santa looked disappointed to have scored a cheap money tin. However, if she eventually filled the tin and cracked it open she would have found a $10 note inside, attached to a note that read, “Merry Christmas, from Michael Taylor.”
I do hope she kept the tin, but if not, that she gave it to one of her kids.
“Michael who?’
Michael, what a great story about the money tin.
One of the problems we have today is that the system itself does not encourage saving.
Because the financialization of the economy has led to an economy fueled by debt, young people are prompted by the system to go into debt rather than save.
This leads to problems both for the individuals concerned, and for society itself.
Tess said at your Lionel Murphy article “We are all entitled to be an agitator and rage against the madness, protest and march away from the cliff, rather than walk zombie-like towards it” and that’s very true, but it’s even better if our agitation has a target, a purpose.
Agitate against the financial system.
I’ve never bought anything on hire-purchase, apart from home mortgages. I always waited until I’d saved enough to pay in cash — and I genuinely believe I’ve ended up buying more, not less, by doing so.
Delayed gratification isn’t always easy, but it’s powerful. In today’s debt-driven culture, we’ve lost touch with the value of patience and the freedom that comes with living within our means.
I resent the thought of paying interest to banks.
A rare occurence with going our for dinner last night, I paid in cash as was my intention and the cost of the bill went from $103.00 to $97.00; there’s the proof needed to show how third parties i.e. big tech, banks and businesses are ripping the guts out of consumers.
Don’t get me started on Government, regulators and legislators that deliberately allowed this crap to emerge.
To quote from above: “..Programmable money could:
Penalise “undesirable” spending (e.g. gambling, alcohol)…), tobacco, etc.
Would this be a bad thing? The only loser here would be Government royalties and profits expected by casino owners. I’m definitely not for CBCDs however solving the community “undesirable” spending problem would have a huge positive impact on the Welfare Budget.