Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Morrison government's use of COVID-19 as an excuse to restructure Australia Post, to cut services and to ultimately cut jobs will particularly impact on older Australians, many of whom still heavily rely on Australia Post for letter services. It is particularly galling that this has been done without any consultation and as the Prime Minister calls for the easing of restrictions so that people can get back to work. It is only logical that mail volumes would have fallen over recent months, and it's just as logical that those mail volumes will increase as businesses get back on their feet in the months ahead, particularly as businesses resume sending out unaddressed promotional material, which has become a large part of the Australia Post business.

It has been alleged that Australia Post are manipulating their statistics to justify the changes, which raises the question: What is the Morrison government's real objective here? Is the long-term plan to privatise Australia Post? We don't know, because the Morrison government refuses to debate the matter. We saw that in this chamber only this morning. What we do know is that, under the Morrison government, Australian postal prices have increased and continue to increase, services are being cut and one in four postie jobs will very likely be lost, all of which will further hurt the Australian economy.