After 200 people crammed into the Glenroy Post Office Place on August 4 calling on Australia Post not to close it, the community rallied outside Australia Post headquarters in the CBD on August 17.
A notice pinned to the Glenroy Post Office door in June announced it would close on August 25. People were redirected to small businesses which have become Licensed Post Offices (LPOs) in nearby suburbs.
Glenroy resident Molly McGuire told the August 4 rally that she would be badly impacted by the closure.
鈥淎s a legally blind person, I am reliant on public transport, taxis and the good will of others to get around. I can walk to this Post Office from my home 鈥 The Post Office is local and situated within a stone鈥檚 throw of the train station and other amenities.鈥
Glenroy is the biggest shopping centre in the northern suburbs and, importantly, it is an accessible public transport hub. None of the surrounding LPOs are located in public transport hubs and some are not accessible.
A to save the Glenroy Post Office quickly garnered close to 3000 signatures.
Glenroy Post Office is one of around 30 corporate post offices in聽metropolitan areas聽that Australia Post is closing.聽Australia Post calls post offices that are directly owned by Australia Post, corporate post offices.聽They are usually in the busiest shopping centres, which are also public transport hubs.
Australia Post has already privatised most post offices聽across Australia聽with LPOs聽making up around two-thirds of all post offices across the country.
LPOs are private businesses that are licensed to operate as post offices by Australia Post. LPOs operate like a franchise for Australia Post.
Those slated for closure, or which have already been closed, are:聽Glenroy; Hampton; Wheelers Hill; Burwood; Mitcham; Essendon; Box Hill Central聽in Victoria; Logan City Centre in Queensland; Penrith in New South Wales and Oaklands in South Australia.聽Australia Post announced in April it was axing 400 jobs at its Naarm/Melbourne head office.
The Communication Workers Union 鈥 Postal has urged the federal government not to 鈥減rivatise by stealth鈥. In its submission to the federal聽聽consultation discussion paper which closed in March, the union said that 鈥渢he increasing reliance on, and subsidisation of, LPOs is a form of privatisation by stealth鈥. It urged the government to 鈥渃onsider supporting Australia Post to buy back licenses from LPO operators鈥.
鈥淚f the Government is to deliver on its commitment to keep Australia Post fully publicly owned, to ensure post offices with full-service offerings remain accessible in regional and rural communities, a corporate post office聽[an Australia Post-owned post office]聽is the best choice for customers and workers.鈥
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