Rachel Rose: You can bank on co-ops' benefits

CAPITAL CO-OPERATIVE: A worker at Mondragon's electrical appliances plant in Fagor, Spain.

CO-OPERATION isn't a word we're hearing too much lately, but it is alive and well in Whanganui.

It's certainly evident at the aptly named Co-operative Bank on Victoria Ave. Waiting to see a staff member recently, I watched a procession of elderly customers welcomed at the counter by Jo with her characteristic warm cheer.

Really, when was the last time you felt enthusiastic about your bank? I've been using technology to avoid visiting a branch since telephone banking was first introduced. These days, the Ministry of Primary Industries' draconian regulations about raw milk force me into the branch every month to collect a bag full of coins with which to feed the vending machine behind the Mooijs milking shed.

It's no hardship, popping into the branch. The staff recognise me and greet me by name - Grace will ask after my dog, too, always a way to my heart.

Jo's cheerfulness is entirely contagious. Tarsha takes my phone calls at tax time and sorts out all the details I need. I so like being able to call my local branch and speak with someone I know, who is unfailingly helpful. It certainly beats being a customer number left on hold for ages.

It's easy to take eftpos and internet banking for granted, but such changes are baffling and unwelcome for some very elderly people I know. I'm glad there are local options where they are still welcome to do their banking in cash, in person, and aren't charged extra fees for doing so.

Co-operatives aren't a novelty in New Zealand, especially in the rural sector: Fonterra, Ravensdown and Farmlands are of course all co-ops. Fonterra has 10,500 shareholders; at the other end of the scale, I belong to an informal co-operative of 12 households in Whanganui that purchase dry goods from an organic wholesaler - the co-op form is very flexible.

Co-operatives have a lot of powerful potential, say proponents of a more sustainable economy, and we heard from them and saw some examples in a documentary recently screened by Double Farley, A New Economy.

A good crowd turned out for an interesting evening as the film-makers posed the question: What if working together for the good of all was the most common business model? - and looked at examples of diverse organisations using co-operative models.

Sole Food Street Farm was particularly interesting to me, being market gardens established below freeway flyovers in a notorious urban slum in Vancouver (who knew Vancouver even had slums?) New Zealand's very own Loomio also featured.

Incidentally, Double Farley is doing great stuff in the community in this regard, including establishing a co-working space, Confluence, and hosting a recent event on collaborative working. Next weekend, it's offering a free livestream of Tedx Wellington - 10am-7pm, June 18 - no need to book, just show up when you like.

Other commentators point to co-ops' capacity to re-localise commerce, as many are made up of members who belong to a particular geographic place.

The structure also provides opportunities for smaller investors who want to see their money working locally.

As well as sharing profit (and risks) among members, co-operatives are also democratically run by those members.

Companies exist to return profits to shareholders. In the case of the major banks operating in New Zealand, the profits flow offshore and into the pockets of investors in Australian companies.

Co-operatives exist to benefit their members - that means my bank distributes profits back to members in the form of a rebate.

The potential of co-operatives is huge - take Mondragon Corporation, a federation of 103 worker-owned co-operatives in Spain.

Mondragon is no little organic food co-op. In 2015, it earned approximately 12.11 billion euros and it employs more than 74,000 people around the world, the vast majority of them "worker-owners". And those worker-owners have voted to cap executive salaries at eight times that of the lowest worker. And Mondragon is a major part of the regional economy. Together, it means that if the Basque region in Spain were a country, it would have the second-lowest income inequality in the world.

There's lots of acrimonious debate about how to stimulate Whanganui's economy and who should be doing what.

What all parties would surely agree on is that we need more new businesses established here. I'd love to see Whanganui become famous for its thriving, local co-operatives - especially ones producing food and providing essential services and quality goods. -Rachel Rose is a writer, gardener, fermenter and fomenter. More reading and sources are online at www.facebook.com/rachelrose.writer.