{"id":294255,"date":"2021-02-05T13:36:22","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T03:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=294255"},"modified":"2021-02-08T20:42:52","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T10:42:52","slug":"murgon-to-explore-community-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2021\/02\/05\/murgon-to-explore-community-bank\/","title":{"rendered":"Murgon To Explore Community Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MBDA members Lorraine Goodchild and Cr Kathy Duff were among the crowd that attended the MBDA\u2019s latest Meet’n’Greet on Tuesday (Photo: Kathy Duff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

February 5, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Murgon Business and Development Association will investigate the possibility of a community bank being set up in Murgon.<\/p>\n

The move comes after the National Australia Bank announced last week it will close its Murgon branch.<\/p>\n

The NAB closure in April will leave the town with only a Commonwealth Bank branch and a Bendigo Bank outlet.<\/p>\n

The nearest NAB branch will be in Kingaroy.<\/p>\n

At Tuesday night’s MBDA meet’n’greet, the branch’s impending closure was a heated topic of conversation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Members said they were angered by the announcement, which had been made without any forewarning.<\/p>\n

However, the move led to a discussion of alternatives.<\/p>\n

Nanango’s Heritage Bank was held up as a local example of a highly successful community banking model that had worked very well for another South Burnett town abandoned by the major banks.<\/p>\n

Nanango’s Heritage Branch was set up in December 2001 by the town’s residents in partnership with Heritage Bank.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It has since gone on to return more than $4.5 million to the Nanango community, supporting many important community-led initiatives including the town’s CCTV system; Heritage Lodge; the Nanango Men’s Shed and the Butter Factory Park all-inclusive playground.<\/p>\n

It is also a major sponsor of many community events including the Nanango Christmas Carnival and the annual Waterhole Rocks festival.<\/p>\n

Representatives from MBDA plan to approach Heritage Nanango Community Funding – the community group that oversees the Nanango branch’s operations – to discuss the idea.<\/p>\n

They will report their findings back to a future MBDA meeting.<\/p>\n