16/06/2026
The day after the Today Show interview, I was asked to do an over the phone interview with Phoebe Loomes from The Senior Newspaper.
Cash is King.... hopefully the message is getting out there... I can't imagine a life without cash...
When 10,000 dog lovers descended on the small Victorian town of Casterton for the Annual Australian Kelpie Muster, disaster struck.
The town’s only ATM ran completely dry.
With dozens of market stalls, food trucks, and local eateries only accepting cash, the massive event was on the brink of a total flop.
Enter local florist and post office operator, Melita Vise.
After a good Samaritan put a sign on the broken ATM directing people to her shop, Melita threw open her doors and stayed open until 7pm on a Saturday to make sure visitors had cash for dinner and local businesses didn't miss out.
"A lot of them didn't have any idea that you could get cash out of the post office," she said.
As banking becomes increasingly digitised, the incident has highlighted the fierce national campaign to keep cash widely available. While new regulations require some larger supermarkets and petrol stations to accept cash under $500, small business carve-outs have left many seniors disappointed and confused.
Have you ever been caught stranded without cash at an event? Are you worried about local bank branches and ATMs disappearing from our country towns?
Full story: https://www.thesenior.com.au/story/9291164
