Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion before the House. In doing so I would like to say that I can sympathise enormously with the member for Ryan. Australia Post is recalcitrant. It is difficult to change their position on any number of issues. I have fought a battle for over 10 years to get them to put a post office or an agency at one of my shopping centres. It is quite interesting that they have refused to do that but at the same time they have agencies and post offices in other areas. They are very black and white, the member for Ryan. They make a decision and, once they have made a decision, they are not for shifting. They have made that decision; they believe it is the right thing to do; and, no matter what issues we raise with them, it is really hard for them to change their minds.

I can understand the issues that you have raised about postcodes and the sharing of postcodes for distinctly different areas. I think I share your same frustration that you have locations that are 130 kilometres apart. I am sure that the member for Maranoa is going to add to that argument. I am going to put forward something that is a little bit different—I have the opposite in my electorate. Once again it is something that we approached Australia Post about five plus years ago. There is one area within my electorate that is severely disadvantaged. Its postcode is Windale 2306, but there are other areas that are very similar to Windale incorporated into larger postcodes. A suburb may be one kilometre down the road, but it has been incorporated in the 2290 postcode. The simple fact is that this distinct postcode for the subgroup of Windale has led to some discrimination over a period of time. When levels of disadvantage or unemployment are considered, they are considered for that postcode. The residents of that area have for a very long period of time been arguing that they should be incorporated into postcodes that are minutes away.

Unlike the situation that the member for Ryan has highlighted in the chamber today, this is the other side of the situation, where an area would benefit if it were incorporated under another postcode. Australia Post has a very closed mind; they cannot see the benefit of it. There was a working party established within the Windale area, called the Windale renewal group. That was back in the early 2000's, and one of the strong recommendations of this group was to be incorporated into the 2290 postcode with suburbs that were close by. That would have had the impact of moving away from some of the discrimination based on that postcode. It did not happen. Australia Post did not listen to the argument. There was a lot of investment through the Windale renewal scheme, where a lot of work was done to help the community. It is very strong and vibrant community; it is actually one of the strongest communities within the electorate of Shortland. People who live there are proud of the fact that they live in Windale; but, on the other hand, they are very concerned that this simple postcode effect leads to discrimination. So, just as postcodes affect the electorates of Ryan and Maranoa with the unintended consequence, consequence of disconnection, here is an area which would be better if it were incorporated into other postcodes and it has a very similar sort of effect. Perhaps the answer is that Australia Post needs to sit down, take a really good look at postcodes throughout Australia, determine the best way of allocating those postcodes and go through the process of putting in place postcodes that truly reflect the areas those postcodes cover. I thank the member for Ryan for bringing this to the chamber's attention. I note that she has made an amendment, but in looking at it I would have to say we really need to strongly encourage Australia Post to listen to the community that they represent. We need to strongly encourage Australia Post to have a more open view of how they look at situations—be it the starting of new post offices or the establishment of a post agency or the allocation of postcodes. Things change; things do not remain the same. If your opinion stays the same, it shows that you are not reacting to the concerns of the communities that you service. Australia Post is a service organisation and, as a service organisation, it needs to listen to those communities that it services. I suspect also that a number of their employees would find it a lot easier if those postcodes did not cover such diverse areas as have been outlined. As I was saying, I thank the member for Ryan for bringing this to the chamber, and I am quite happy to support any request for Australia Post to be more receptive to the communities they service.

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