Julia Irwin (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to take this opportunity to make a few brief remarks about a public hearing the Standing Committee on Petitions held in Melbourne at the end of last month. The committee met with a number of principal petitioners and discussed petitions on issues as diverse as the effects of khat on the East African community, funding for students with a disability, pension levels and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

I would like to draw the attention of the House to one group who appeared at that hearing: students from Avila College in Mt Waverley in Victoria. The students—Caitlyn Petrie, Hazel Titus and Alexandra Bellizia—representing the reconciliation group at that school, addressed the committee about their petition calling for Indigenous Australians to be given a greater voice in decisions that affect them. They spoke with great passion and eloquence about the plight of Indigenous students and their work within their school community to educate others about Indigenous issues. We were also very interested to hear that students from Avila go to Santa Teresa community, about 80 kilometres from Alice Springs, to work in the school and community for a week each year.

We often hear that young Australians are not engaged in the political process and feel disconnected and powerless. The efforts by groups such as the reconciliation group at Avila are a marvellous example of students identifying an issue that they believe in and becoming politically active—in this case, in organising a petition and having it presented to the parliament. I commend these students and I must say that, if these young women are any guide, the future of Australia will be in very safe hands.

Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the chair of the Standing Committee on Petitions for giving me the opportunity to speak on the substance of the petition regarding the relocation of the Wanneroo post office. Wanneroo is in the north of the electorate of Cowan. It is in the middle of a redesign and renovation of the shopping district as part of the Wanneroo town site. Stage 1 is completed now, with Coles doing very well and a number of other shops within the new redeveloped shopping centre. The old Wanneroo shopping centre was just across a small road from the Wanneroo Australia Post office. It is not a shopfront but a post office. Unfortunately, what has happened with the redevelopment is that the post office is now across the road from a building site. It is separated quite significantly—not so much in distance but in terms of accessibility—from the new shopping centre. Until such time as later stages are completed, the post office will remain isolated.

While the post office is not the only shop isolated from the main shopping centre, it is the one that a lot of people visit. Already, the problem with the Australia Post office is that access for those who are disabled or infirm is very difficult. The one disabled car spot happens to just perfectly cover the ramp that goes from the car park up to the porch in front of the post office, so it is inadequate on a number of levels. A number of local people, including some of the City of Wanneroo councillors, raised with me this matter and, as they see it, the need for the post office to be relocated inside the shopping centre. So it would be part of the new stage 1 complex and would have greater accessibility for everyone. It would be just near the very vibrant seniors’ club in Wanneroo, and for everyone else it would certainly be a win-win situation if the office decided to relocate.

The first thing I did was write to the minister. The minister made some comments about it being up to Australia Post and gave commercial reasons why it would not be moved. I made contact with and wrote to Australia Post. In fact, I wrote to the managing director. As a member of the House of Representatives I am not allowed to raise petitions, so another strong advocate for the local area, Kelly Simpkins, decided that she would raise a petition on behalf of local people. Together with the excellent work of Marcia Dinnie, the long-serving president of the Wanneroo seniors’ club, we managed to attract 106 signatures for the petition to ask Australia Post to relocate into the new shopping centre.

We were most of the way through collecting signatures when Australia Post wrote back and promised to do an update and modernise the existing premises to deal with the accessibility problems. That is somewhat reassuring but the issue of isolation still remains a major problem, particularly for the older folks. We are in the position now where the petition has been presented and the local people are waiting for the response from the minister. I hope that Australia Post delivers in full on their plans to update their existing facilities. I was hoping that they would relocate but in the end accessibility for the older folks is what really matters.

Again, I would like to pay tribute to Marcia Dinnie, who helped to get a majority of the signatures, and also to Kelly Simpkins for being the principal petitioner, and all those people in the Wanneroo area who signed the petition. It was unfortunate that an alternative petition, which was raised by one of the councillors who first raised the matter with me, took some of the signatures away. It was also unfortunate because that petition was for presentation to the City of Wanneroo. Apparently all they did was write another letter to Australia Post, so that was a bit unfortunate. Also, their petition was to the director-general of Australia Post, so I am afraid it was not all that well informed in any case. But I look forward to the minister’s response. Obviously we want the best possible solution and the best possible facilities for the people of Wanneroo, as they appropriately deserve.