Lochinvar Residents Meet Over Pending Post Office Closure

 BY IAN CROUCH

Lochinvar residents are meeting with Australia Post officials on Thursday morning to discuss the pending closure of their local post office on May 1.

Australia Post is ending daily letter deliveries and closing smaller licensed post offices, particularly in regional areas, in a bid to make the organisation more viable as more people opt for digital forms of communication.

Despite the trend, many residents, particularly the elderly and disabled rely on their local post office for a range of over-the-counter postal, bill paying and other services.

There's already been community uproar over the pending closure of the Lambton Post Office, also due to shut down on May 1, with close to 4,000 residents signing a petition to no avail. 

Lochinvar resident, Kevin Gordon is attending today's meeting and says many in the community have only recently been informed about the decision, and closing the post office will have a major impact on the village.

"There's always going to be an element that are people who are elderly, people who are disabled (who) need to have access to those particular facilities and I think it's a bit of a shame that they're doing this so quickly," he said.

The Lochinvar Post Office is due to close on May 1 Picture: Google

Australia Post To Hire More Staff As Parcel Deliveries Surge

BY IAN CROUCH

Australia Post is set to hire more staff and ramp up weekend parcel deliveries across the country as residents in Lockdown move to online shopping.

More than 4000 new team members are being recruited including 3500in delivery roles - 350 of those in regional areas.

The hiring effort also includes 1000 drivers.

More than 9 million Australians shopped online in the past financial year, with Australia Post's 2021 Inside Online eCommerce report revealing almost 32 per cent growth year-on-year.

Weekend deliveries will remain in place until the end of the year, with up to half a million parcels being delivered every weekend from now until Christmas.

Australia Post is hiring more staff to cope with a surge
 in parcel deliveries Picture startsat60.com

Fire Forces Closure Of Australia Post Shop At Wallsend

BY IAN CROUCH

Fire has damaged the Australia Post Shop at Wallsend Village overnight.

Firefighters from Wallsend, Minmi and Lambton were called to the shopping centre in Kokera Street just before 6.30pm on Tuesday, arriving to find the Post Shop heavily smoke logged.

Newcastle Fire Command says the automatic sprinkler system activated, preventing the fire from taking hold.

Crews had the fire fully extinguished and mopped up by 7.50pm.

The extent of damage or the cause of the fire is not known at this stage, however it was contained to the shop.

No-one was injured and the shopping centre will open today as usual, although the Post shop will remain closed.

The Australia Post Shop at Wallsend Village Shopping Centre Picture: Sonia Hornery MP

Posties Hold Urgent Meeting At Warabrook Over Proposed Service Cuts

BY IAN CROUCH

Newcastle Posties will hold an urgent meeting this morning at the Warabrook Delivery Centre to discuss plans to reduce services and slash jobs.

The Communication Workers Union says the Morrison Government has approved changes which has already seen the frequency of delivery services wound back and a growing backlog in undelivered mail and parcels.

Under the plan, deliveries in cities will be reduced to every second day, while interstate deliveries would be made within 5 days.

The Union says unless the changes are blocked in Parliament, up to 25 per cent of Posties could lose their jobs.

Posties are calling on the community to urge their local MP to block the service cuts by going to www.postalpandemic.com.au

Posties to meet at Warabrook over service cuts Picture apbauto.com.au