Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The population of the township of Virginia in my electorate has grown significantly in recent years, yet none of these residents receive mail delivery, unlike those in other areas of Virginia's size. This exponential growth means that the Virginia Licensed Post Office, having provided PO boxes to a much smaller population through prior decades, has far exceeded its capacity. Hundreds of new residents can't receive their mail in their own town.

So it only makes sense that, for at least half a decade, people in the Virginia community have called for Australia Post to implement the household delivery of mail, which brings me to Australia Post's policy to deliver on that expectation—a yes/no community-wide mail delivery poll in order to confirm there is genuine, active support for this notion. It is important to note that a survey conducted by my office, which saw 130 Virginia residents respond, found that 95 per cent of respondents would vote yes in such a poll. So you would think that a proper vote on the matter through Australia Post itself would clearly reflect community sentiment.

But there's a catch, and it's in the rules of Australia Post's polling system. To quote their policy:

If you fail to submit a response by the poll closing date and time, your vote is counted as a 'NO' vote

This rule alone has managed to sidestep community expectations for accessible delivery services and has completely derailed the opportunity for Virginia to match its increase in population, and I'll demonstrate why. Out of 853 ballots to eligible houses, the 2024 mail delivery poll of Virginia showed an overall result of 412 voters saying yes to implementing mail delivery, with 441 saying no, a 48-52 split in the negative, leading to Australia Post deciding not to implement mail delivery. But, out of that overall number of ballots delivered to households, only 446 were returned and, of the returned ballots, just 33 disagreed with implementing mail delivery, compared to 412 returned indicating a 'yes' vote. That is 92 per cent of returned ballots in favour of a mail delivery. The other 407 ballots, counted as 'no' votes by Australia Post, weren't sent in. Only eight per cent of the 'no' vote actually indicated the resident didn't want mail delivery.

While I acknowledge that a small proportion of Virginia residents I've spoken to said they didn't return their ballot as a more convenient way of voting no in the poll, many others informed me that their ballots either weren't or were lost and that they simply didn't know a poll was being conducted. These people were then counted as 'no' votes when they didn't actually express that sentiment. Many in this group have said they wanted to vote yes. So not only does the voting process heavily favour 'no' results but it assumes what communities want, instead of actually listening to them. Because of it, Australia Post have made a huge decision in Virginia, completely falling short of community expectations as a result of ballots with nothing on them.

It is a certainty that, if this no-return policy didn't exist and the poll didn't have these unbelievable flaws, Virginia would have mail delivery, which is what Virginia wants. Imagine if a Commonwealth referendum automatically counted everyone who didn't vote as a yes or a no. This unimaginable system would be the equivalent of an Australia Post mail delivery poll. On a national level, people would think that's a joke and change it, so why not at a local level?

This is a farcical result from an absolutely broken system, and Australia Post are choosing to stick with it. Despite having been told for over a decade to change it, by the Commonwealth Ombudsman, by members of parliament like me and by local communities across the country, Australia Post have chosen not to care. They think they know better, all the way up in the high-rises of Melbourne, than their customers in the rapidly growing communities of Australia. Australia Post's failure to listen has devastated mail services to the community of Virginia. They need to get their heads out of the sand and review how they implement mail delivery so that it reflects what communities need. So, Australia Post, get on your bikes—I know you have plenty—and deliver a system that actually works. Deliver a mail delivery poll that does what people want, and deliver for our communities. The people of Virginia are sick of asking.

House adjourned at 16:59