Media release 3/12/01

Laughing all the Way to the Credit Union, a new report analysing the effectiveness of the CreditCare program in revitalising rural communities devastated by the withdrawal of banks will be launched at a national seminar in Sydney.

The seminar, titled Lessons from CreditCare is organised by the Australian Centre for Co-operative Research and Development (ACCORD) and will be held at the Graduate School of Business (UTS), Quay Street, Sydney from 1.30-4.30pm on Monday 3 December.

Author of the report and Co-operative Commentator, Dr Garry Lewis will present his findings on the relevance of CreditCare as a model for community economic development.

A joint venture of the Commonwealth Government and Credit Union Services Corporation (Australia) Ltd (CUSCAL), CreditCare operated between 1995 and 2000 to help rural communities help themselves re-establish financial services.

CreditCare was a co-operative model, which gave ownership and empowerment to the community. It solved the problem of “no bank” towns and helped to create almost 60 Credit Union branches serving approximately 40,000 people. In doing this it created 80 new jobs.

A dedicated and experienced team of field officers implemented the CreditCare model with a real commitment to grassroots economic solutions. They were recruited for their broad ranging “hands-on” community development experience.

Margaret Lester, field officer and winner of an Australian Marketing Institute Award for Excellence, will speak about the practical and human aspects of CreditCare. From the community perspective, Natalie Armstrong, President of the Delegate Progress Association, will describe how the program gained momentum and support from the grassroots.

ACCORD is a joint venture of UTS, Sydney, Charles Sturt University (Bathurst) and is supported by the NSW Department of Fair Trade to focus research on Australia’s co-operative and mutual organisations.

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Contact Suzanne Henderson, ACCORD on: (02) 9559 5522 or mobile: 0407 104 268