Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The decision by Australia Post to close the Modbury post office beggars belief. Located in the Tea Tree Plaza Shopping Centre and within the dominant regional precinct in Adelaide's north-east where, every day, thousands of people pass through, the post office is also adjacent to Modbury Hospital, the O-Bahn transport interchange, the City of Tea Tree Gully Council offices and countless community, commercial and public services. If the post office is closed, Tea Tree Plaza will become a major regional centre without a post office.

The post office provides a range of services, including general postal services, bill paying, banking, passports, money transfers et cetera. Australia Post claims the post office is making a loss and there are other post offices in the region. Those other post offices are not easily accessible by everyone. Australia Post was corporatised in 1989, but it is still expected to provide a public service. It is absurd that a regional centre have no post office.

I call on Australia Post to consider all options, including franchising out the service or reducing its current floor area, and to reverse its decision to close the Modbury Post Office. I also ask the Minister for Communications and the Minister for Finance to consider any options available to them to ensure the Modbury post office remains open.