Coleambally deserves a post office, not a downgrade
Independent Member for Murray Helen Dalton has called on Australia Post to
immediately restore full Licensed Post Office services in Coleambally, after the town’s
LPO was shut down and replaced with a stripped-back Community Postal Agency
operating from a local pharmacy.
The downgrade has removed PO boxes, bill payment, banking, parcel tracking and
international mail services from a town of more than 1,000 people. Mail is now sorted
on a trestle table under a carport.
“This is not a minor administrative change. This is the removal of essential services
from a community that has already lost its banks and is being asked to accept less
and less every year,” Mrs Dalton said.
“Elderly residents who relied on the post office to pay their bills have been cut off.
Visa holders working in the district cannot send international mail. Contractors are
driving 165 kilometres a day to sort mail because Australia Post will not provide
proper facilities.”
Mrs Dalton said workable local solutions for maintaining a full LPO had been presented
to Australia Post but were dismissed without proper investigation. No tender was
offered to allow another party to take over the licence.
“The community put forward sensible options. They were ignored by people who have
never set foot in Coleambally and don’t understand what losing a post office means
for a small regional town,” Helen said.
Across Australia, 73 post offices closed in 2024. At Senate Estimates in November
2024, it was noted that Australia Post was on track for 100 closures in a single
financial year. The Federal Government’s own Statement of Expectations directs
Australia Post to avoid closing post offices in communities where they are the last
provider of face-to-face services.
“Coleambally is exactly the kind of community the Government said should be
protected. Australia Post downgraded the service anyway,” Mrs Dalton said.
“I am standing with this community. Restore the LPO. Stop treating regional towns as
dispensable.”