In the heart of regional communities and rural towns, post offices are an essential service. Post offices connect communities, providing a hub for people to post mail, collect parcels, pay bills and do their banking.
For regional communities that operate at a different pace to metropolitan areas, closing post offices means disrupting how the community connects, as well as slowing down the operations of small businesses. With no post offices, people are stranded.
Earlier this year, Australia Post announced plans to cut its "outsized retail network", especially those located in regional and rural areas. And the Lambton Post Office is one of the first on the chopping block after its closure this month. The closure comes despite more than 4000 signatures from the community, urging Australia Post not to go ahead with the decision, as well as Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon, campaigning to help save the licensed post offices (LPO).
Yet, Lambton is hardly small. Home to roughly 5200 people and only a couple of hours north of Sydney, it's a gateway destination for those wanting a change of scenery.
As someone who grew up in Newcastle, I know first-hand the importance and impact that the local post office has on the community. Owners of LPOs are the friendly faces of the community, well known for their service to the people in their town. There's a reason why people have come together to petition to keep LPOs open, with the Taralga Post Office set to follow a similar fate.
What Australia Post deems as an "oversupply of postal services", we see as a critical service for the community and small business owners operating in regional Australia. What many people don't realise is that their local LPO isn't actually the same as Australia Post. LPOs are small businesses that have an Australia Post licence - and it's one that severely restricts them.
Just like any other small businesses, LPOs are fighting to keep their business open. And the ability to work with private carriers would help LPOs diversify their revenue streams and ultimately stay open.
For small businesses that operate from remote and regional areas, there is no other option except for Australia Post. Australia Post and its wholly owned subsidiary, Star Track, are estimated to control 95 per cent of parcel deliveries from regional and rural Australia - meaning that with no other option, small business owners are left with another hurdle to overcome in order to keep their business running.
Regional business owners have been left frustrated having to deal with the lack of service from Australia Post, slowing operations and affecting their relationships with consumers. For some, that tie will be cut in their town, leaving them with no other choice but to commute to the nearest postal hub.
Instead of closing post offices in regional areas, Australia Post could look at opening its infrastructure to the rest of the private sector. This move would drive innovation and competition for the benefit of all Australians, making essential services more accessible and available. We know that 84 per cent of small businesses are asking for more competition in the shipping industry, isn't it time the postal giant listened?
The current state of the postal and delivery sector in Australia is significantly holding small businesses back, and this sentiment is found in a recent survey stating that 62 per cent of respondents agreed that better access to delivery services to customers in regional, rural and remote areas would improve their business outlook.
This is why Sendle, along with other delivery and logistics companies such as Team Global Express, FedEx and Aramex, have put forward submissions to the government calling for Australia Post to open up. We recognise LPOs as important pillars in their communities and will continue the fight to help more of these businesses stay open and be able to work with private carriers.
It's time for Australia Post to look into the opportunities that come with opening its networks, instead of taking a step backwards by closing post offices. Rather than shutting essential postal hubs, why not allow these locations to act as collection points to other private carriers, and allow deliveries to continue in and out of regional and rural Australia?
