also issues with mass surveillance and centralisation of the economy iirc

"Australia's transition to a cashless society". Misleading headline; the article is reporting on a relative decline in the number of cash transactions. Don't think there's been any policy or legislation on phasing out cash.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Cash payments plummeted during the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic, when online shopping spiked, and they show little sign of bouncing back.

While the benefits of phasing out cash include increased convenience, transparency and safety, the transition to a wholly digital economy risks excluding some sections of society.

The transition away from cash disproportionately affects disadvantaged groups, such as people with disabilities and those who live in remote and regional Australia who have difficulty accessing digital financial services.

In Sweden, one of the first nations in the world to embrace a cash-free economy, concerns about financial exclusion among marginalised communities saw a backlash against the shift to cashlessness, particularly when many bank branches removed cash-handling facilities altogether.

Five local credit unions arranged for a helicopter to deliver a cash-filled ATM to the flood-ravaged town, where blackouts lasted for weeks.

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 saw a run on cash as bank customers withdrew funds, fearful of a stock market crash.

The original article contains 820 words, the summary contains 164 words. Saved 80%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

I've started using cash again this year after like a decade using cards (and even a stint with my phone). Unfortunately crypto has failed as a realistic alternative so cash needs to survive until something else comes along.