MOUNT Burr residents have reluctantly supported the extension of opening hours at the new post office, but are pushing for the reinstatement of over-the-counter services as a matter of urgency.
Close to 60 people attended a public meeting held at the Mount Burr Football Club over the weekend to express their concerns about the sudden closure of the post office and provide information about plans to reinstate the vital services.
In attendance was Wattle Range Mayor Peter Gandolfi and Member for Barker Tony Pasin, while Australia Post did not take up the invitation to attend the meeting.
Residents unanimously agreed the arrangement, which will see the new post office open from 10am to 1pm as well as 5.30pm to 6.30pm from Monday to Friday, was satisfactory, but stressed bill paying and banking services were of a necessity to the small town.
Led by community member Graeme Mellor, the crowd was in agreement the services offered at the new community postal agency – which include over the counter mail, post office box and parcel collection, mail and parcel sending, stamps and some prepaid packaging products – were not sufficient.
A letter from Australia Post directs residents to Millicent Post Office and the Tantanoola and Kalangadoo local post offices to access the broader range of services, including banking and bill payment.
An initial bid to establish a roadside delivery service was shot down when it was revealed costs for post office boxes – which attract a reduced rate in Mount Burr – would skyrocket from $38 to $132 for a small box and $86 to $313 for a large box.
Mr Pasin supported the community’s push to see banking and bill paying at the new Mount Burr mill site, but warned against establishing a roadside delivery saying it had the ability to further drive down operating hours.
“If as a community you really value the ability to go and pay your bills at your post office, Australia Post would encourage you all to think about post office boxes, because the more post office boxes there are at this facility, the more viable this facility will go forward,” he said.
When questioned about the reasons for the closure, Mr Pasin said “Australia Post tell me that is something I’m not allowed to know”.
“Australia Post has come to a determination, as I understand, the application for a licence at the shop was not something they could support,” he said.
“I am not going to go into the reasons behind that as I do not know them because for reasons of confidentiality, they will not tell me.
“I think there are reasons behind the timeliness of this.
“They get information and they need to act on it fairly quickly, but irrespective of that, the fact they have not communicated with you and the fact they are not here today are both very poor examples of customer service.”
Mr Pasin said he would push for an Australia Post representative to meet with the community to discuss the issue in the near future.
The new trading hours follow community outrage around last week’s announcement by Australia Post to reinstate postal services to the town on a one-hour per day basis from 10am to 11am before announcing the hours would extend to include 3pm to 4pm the next day.
On Friday, Australia Post announced a third change to the hours to see the new service operational for a consecutive three hour block as well as offering an after hour service.
In a statement, an Australia Post spokesperson said the new post office did “not yet” have the infrastructure to support bill paying services, but were working towards having services available.
The spokesperson said Australia Post would provide updates to the community once details are confirmed.
