Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have previously advised the House, Australia Post has announced that it will close the Palm Beach post office on 26 November. This will devastate the Palm Beach community, the businesses, the local economy and those who rely on the post office’s services.

More than any other issue I have experienced in my position as the federal member for McPherson the closure of the Palm Beach post office has galvanised the community into action. Since the announcement, a public rally, organised at necessarily short notice, saw an estimated 140 people attend, outraged at the actions of Australia Post. My office and the offices of my state parliament and local council colleagues have been inundated with support for keeping the Palm Beach post office open. I understand that hundreds of letters have been sent to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, requesting his intervention. It is unfortunate that the minister has not seen fit to do this. Responses from the minister, to both the local people and the media, have been little more than a washing of the hands and finger-pointing at Australia Post’s independence. However, the minister does have the ability to consult with the Australia Post board, being the relevant minister, but has so far declined to do so on this issue. I have presented a petition to the Petitions Committee, calling on the minister to do just that.

Again, with necessarily little time to distribute the petition, we have had almost 3,000 petitioners sign and indicate their support, which is an overwhelming response. These people, as locals, realise that closure of the Palm Beach post office will hurt local businesses and the local business community and will especially inconvenience the elderly and disabled. A post office acts as a hub for this community. This post office is surrounded by small businesses, and many customers not only go to the post office but also go to the bank, the pharmacy and other shops close by. A post office—the Palm Beach post office—is part of the local community and a very important part.

It is not as if Australia Post or the minister is unaware of the impact that removing a post office has on the community. Indeed, you do not need to look far from the Palm Beach post office to witness the impact. A year or so ago, the Burleigh Heads post office, also in my electorate, was ripped out of the Burleigh CBD. Australia Post argued that it was relocated, not closed, but these semantics are of complete unimportance to the local businesspeople. The retailers of James Street have never had it tougher. Combining overall difficult economic conditions with the removal of a major drawcard to the CBD has been devastating. It used to be difficult to get a car park in James Street. Now it is easy.

A closure of the Palm Beach post office will impact on Palm Beach; that is assured. Australia Post argued: ‘The next closest post office is only 2.4 kilometres away. It’s not that far.’ Well, ‘far’ is relative. It will feel like a long way to the retailers whose customers are going elsewhere. It will feel like a long way to the seniors of the area who used to wander down to the post office to mail a letter or pay a bill, maybe grab a coffee or a paper and then walk back home. It will feel a long way for our seniors, the disabled and those without personal transport. It will feel a long way for the businesses that may have multiple trips to the post office during the day just in the course of their business.

And it will certainly be felt over Christmas, when the lines at the post office are the longest, when even the most tech-savvy of us will return to traditional mail to wish our family and friends well and when we wish to send parcels of gifts to our loved ones interstate or overseas. It does not make sense to close a post office before Christmas, the busiest time of the year. And it does not make sense to close this busy Palm Beach post office at all.

I urge the minister to take note of the petition when it is tabled and to take the pleas of the people of Palm Beach seriously. Australia Post have ridden roughshod over the people of Palm Beach, and the minister should intervene.