Jones told Australian media the banks, whose New Zealand subsidiaries dominate the New Zealand market, must stop “being driven by unelected, UN-orientated climate apostles”.
For years, Labour has argued banking should be more accessible and affordable for all Kiwis.
We pushed for competition in the banking sector to ensure better services for customers. We called out the banking industry’s record profits while everyday people struggled with rising fees and limited access to basic financial services. National, Act and NZ First had nothing to say.
Now, suddenly, they’ve discovered banking access is a problem – not because they care about struggling families or young workers. Their newfound concern isn’t about the thousands of Kiwis without bank accounts, but about fossil fuel companies losing banking services.
"For too many New Zealanders, opening a bank account is a struggle."
Access to affordable banking services isn’t just a convenience, it’s a necessity for participation in modern society. Whether you are getting wages paid, securing a rental, or receiving Government support, having a bank account is the gateway to economic stability.
I know for too many New Zealanders, opening an account is a struggle. Young people leaving care, survivors of abuse, and those without a fixed address often find themselves locked out of the banking system.
My electorate office sees this first-hand. Last year, we helped a young homeless couple who couldn’t get into a rental because they had no bank accounts. Without an address, they couldn’t open an account. Without an account, they couldn’t receive support. It was a cycle, and they needed help to end it.
Late to the party, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon now wants banks to be forced to finance coal companies and petrol stations, despite market shifts and global trends away from fossil fuels.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is pushing a bill to stop banks from making commercial decisions based on climate risks, blaming “woke ideology”. The same politicians who used to champion free-market capitalism are now demanding Government intervention to protect industries affected by the transition to a clean economy.
The message from Luxon to banks is, “You’ve got to finance things that Kiwis need, and not financing petrol stations or coal companies – those are things that New Zealand needs going forward, big time.”
The hypocrisy is staggering.
When first-home buyers and small businesses struggle to get credit, National and Act tell us that’s just how markets work. But when fossil fuel companies face the same reality, suddenly the free market is a problem.
Furthermore, it was only last year when political parties seemed to be in broad agreement that competition in the banking sector resembled, in Finance Minister Nicola Willis’s words, “a cosy pillow fight, with profit margins coming first and everyday Kiwis coming second”.
Are we now to understand our rapacious banks are actually insufficiently capitalist? According to this theory, our highly profitable banks are sacrificing opportunities for even greater profits because making money is now a secondary consideration behind environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.
The truth is banks are profit-driven entities. They make decisions based on risk and long-term viability, not ideology.
As former Climate Change Commission chairman Rod Carr pointed out, businesses now factor in climate risk because investors demand it. Ignoring these risks isn’t just bad for the environment – it’s bad business. Banks of all sizes recognise there are real costs associated with climate change. That’s why banks are transitioning away from fossil fuel financing.
Instead of addressing the real issue – the lack of affordable, accessible banking for everyday Kiwis – the Government is wasting time blaming “woke banks”. It’s a distraction from their own economic mismanagement. Small businesses are struggling not because of climate-conscious banking policies but because National and Act’s economic plan is driving up costs and squeezing households.
It may be convenient for the Government to pretend a reassessment of a business’ exposure to climate-related risks is about activism. But the truth is business leaders, along with much of the rest of the country, recognise the future is going to look different.
Thinking about how climate change will affect your business is a rational commercial consideration. Many business leaders who are looking ahead to these risks are actually demonstrating more leadership regarding the issue than ministers who want to dismiss these decisions as “moralising”.
If the Government actually cared about banking access, they’d act on the Commerce Commission’s retail banking study, which found thousands of Kiwis can’t access basic financial services. They’d support Labour’s efforts to increase banking competition and regulate unfair fees. They’d back practical solutions, like my Financial Markets (International Money Transfers) Bill, which would lower costs for remittances sent overseas.
Instead, they’re using banking as another culture war battleground. They are choosing to fight for fossil fuel interests while ignoring the real financial struggles of New Zealanders.
Banking access isn’t just a business issue; it’s a social justice issue.
It’s time for the Government to stop playing politics and start focusing on the real problem: making banking fairer and more accessible for everyone, not just the industries they happen to like.
