Banking Merger continued...

Practicing what I was preaching, I have written to my local Federal Member of Parliament about the banking merger. All Victorian Senators are next, followed by the State guys.

A copy of the letter:

"Dear Mr Billson,
As a resident of Frankston and a voter in Dunkley I respectfully request that you and your fellow Parliamentarians do whatever is required to block the takeover of the St George Bank by Westpac.
Megacorporations are not good for competition and they are not good for the consumer. Australian retail and business banking is dominated by a small number of megabanks between whom there is no competition whatsoever. Each bank puts its interest rates on lending up, safe in the knowledge that all other banks will follow suit. Each bank charges exorbitant penalty fees confident that none of its "competitors" will undercut the lucrative fees market by reducing their own fees.
This merger will further reduce choice and result in higher fees and interest rates from the banks and subsequent financial pain on the community.
It is these banks that after borrowing heavily overseas at discounted interest rates and making substantial profits now have the cheek to put up their interest rates under the pretext of increased costs. They were not passing on the savings previously! Mr Billson I am a champion of the free market, but large international corporations have no soul and are not part of the free market. They are exclusively profit driven. Any lip service given to "communities" and charity is simply PR spin to try and make them look nice. There can be no doubt that a merged Westpac / St George Bank will further restrict choice to consumers and will continue to drain money from the economy. The banks are protected and operate within a regulated structure, but at the same time have the ability and wherewithal to do as they please.
Dunkley is a diverse electorate and although there are plenty of people with the education and inclination to make informed banking choices, there is also a large percentage of the population who are locked into the Big 4 with mortgages and credit cards. These people will continue to suffer at the hands of the MegaBanks until such time as we are able to do something about them.
We voted for you, Mr Billson, because you care about us. We chose to have you as our representative. We chose you to look out for us and to put our welfare first. Please do not let us down on this one. Block the takeover.

yours sincerely, etc etc."

I'm doing all this via email, I'll let you know if I get any responses.