Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I rise to express my very strong support for the campaign for our new post office at Pemulwuy in my electorate. Pemulwuy is a fairly new neighbourhood that has been developed over the last few years. It is a very good development and a very lovely suburb. Around 3,000 people have made Pemulwuy their home. There is a very good shopping centre.

I have worked very closely with the people of Pemulwuy on what has been a very big issue—the lack of internet access in Pemulwuy. You would think most developments in this day and age would have internet access automatically but broadband was not provided when Pemulwuy was first developed. We worked very closely with Telstra, and I want to pay tribute to Telstra and to their senior officers, Joe Komadina and others, who worked very closely with me and my office to ensure that broadband came to Pemulwuy. I am very pleased indeed that Pemulwuy is on the rollout program for the National Broadband Network and that work has started.

Having said that, the next biggest issue for the people of Pemulwuy is a post office at Pemulwuy shopping centre. When the Pemulwuy shopping centre was first developed we did lobby Australia Post, and I again want to acknowledge and thank Australia Post for their assistance. We got a post box placed at Pemulwuy shopping centre. That was a good development.

The people of Pemulwuy are currently served by the Greystanes Post Office, which is a very good post office. It is run very well. It has, as I recall, been awarded as the best post office of New South Wales in previous years. The people of Pemulwuy do deserve a proper postal presence in the shopping centre. I have been talking to Australia Post about this for some years and they have, quite rightly, said to me that we need to wait for the population of Pemulwuy to grow to justify a post office. I have accepted that. I have continued to work with them. But I think the time has now come for a post office at Pemulwuy. I have raised this directly with Australia Post—and I have no complaints about Australia Post's response and their willingness to listen to me on this matter, but I would like to see a post office at Pemulwuy sooner rather than later.

It does not need to be a huge post office. The people of Pemulwuy would not want that, but they do look for some sort of presence so that they can conduct activities—more than a post box. We already have a post box. If you are listening, you would know that because I said we have got one. What we need is a post office in Pemulwuy shopping centre. I am sure that there is a way that this can be done in conjunction with one of the existing shops, which is one of the things we have discussed with the shop owners and with the community. I think this would be very well justified.

I would not ask for this if I did not think that Australia Post could justify the presence at Pemulwuy. As I said, this is a new development and a very good development. It is a development in which many people from around our area have chosen to make their home. But after the development of broadband and the NBN, the campaign for a new post office at Pemulwuy is next on the list. I will be very pleased if we are able to deliver this to the people of Pemulwuy and the people of the broader community who shop at Pemulwuy—some people from Greystanes, Smithfield and Wetherill Park go to Pemulwuy to shop because it is a very good shopping centre.

I have dealt considerably on this matter with John Kropman of the residents association and with Ainsley Bock and other shopkeepers at Pemulwuy shops. This is something that will have very broad community support and the support of the shopping centre itself. It is not just about providing more reason to go to Pemulwuy shops, because it is a very good shopping centre in and of itself and very busy; it is about providing that service to the people of Pemulwuy which I think would be eminently justifiable. I will continue to work with Australia Post towards this and continue to lobby for it. I am very pleased to be able in the House tonight to lobby for the development of a post office at Pemulwuy.