Labor’s new House of Representatives inquiry into Australia Post must not substitute the scrutiny already underway in the Senate over the future of Licensed Post Offices, Shadow Minister for Regional Communications Dr Anne Webster MP said today.
The Coalition secured a Senate inquiry in June into Australia Post’s retail network after serious questions emerged about the public corporation’s plans for Licensed Post Offices (LPOs).
The Senate Environment and Communications References Committee ‘Management of, and plans for, Australia Post’s retail network’ inquiry is already specifically examining the crucial role and sustainability of LPOs in regional, rural and remote Australia. The inquiry is due to report by 16 March 2027.
Dr Webster said the new Labor-controlled House inquiry must put the future of staffed post offices in regional Australia front and centre.
“Post offices are not simply places to buy a stamp in regional Australia. In many small towns they are the last service standing,” Dr Webster said.
“They can be the local banking service, bill payment point, government service access point, parcel collection point and shop, in some cases the only place residents see another human being, check-in and stay connected with their community.
“The Nationals have fought for and preserved the guarantee of at least 2,500 postal service points in rural and remote Australia. That guarantee has to mean something on the ground. A parcel locker is not a post office. Post office licensees have been worried about the reduction of services at their outlets, diminishing their viability.
“I welcome any genuine examination of Australia Post’s future, but the question for regional Australians is simple: will there still be a real post office in their town? Will LPOs pick up more services, like expanded Bank@Post for example, in future?”
“Many regional post office operators are small business people themselves. As proprietors approach retirement, Australia Post must make it possible for the next operator to take over rather than treating retirement as an opportunity to downgrade or remove another service in small towns.
“For decades regional Australians have watched banks, government shopfronts and other essential services disappear from their towns. We cannot allow the local post office – in many places the last service left – to also shut down and leave towns vulnerable to becoming ghost towns.”
The Committee Homepage where the terms of reference and opportunities for submissions will appear is here: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Communications_the_Arts_and_Sport
