Communities scramble for Postshop options
Communities losing their Postshops are hoping the Government may provide a solution in the form of ‘‘regional hubs’’.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson said earlier this week that Government-backed hubs for postal and banking facilities was one possibility in response to New Zealand Post’s plan to close its 79 remaining standalone Postshops, and offer them out as franchises.
However, exploration of the hubs idea was at a very early stage, a spokeswoman for the minister said.
Grey Power’s national president, Mac Welch, called NZ Post’s decision ‘‘absolutely shocking’’ and said the Government needed to step in.
‘‘I’m totally against it. The level of service has already been greatly reduced.’’
In his area, Coromandel, the Postshop was ‘‘totally overcrowded’’, he said. ‘‘It’s an absolute nonsense. The attitude is profit, profit, profit.’’
Welch said the decision would particularly affect his members.
‘‘Older people are the biggest users of postal services ... I’ve had members come to me and say it’s tantamount to elder abuse.’’
Craig Waterhouse, of the South Dunedin Business Association, said a decision in June to close his area’s Kiwibank and Postshop branch had been devastating to many locals.
‘‘What we’re trying to retain in South Dunedin is all the other services in a combined branch. You’ve got bill payments and there’s a whole bunch of other services they provide.’’ Banking was another issue. Although one Kiwibank would remain in the centre of town, not everyone was able to get there or migrate to online banking, Waterhouse said. His group started two petitions, one online and another on paper. The online one only gained about 360 signatures, but the paper one had more than 3500.
‘‘That’s a huge indication of how many people are connected in South Dunedin. People just aren’t connected here – they haven’t got the income or inclination to do that, and they can’t afford to travel all the way into town to use those services.’’
Waterhouse hoped a ‘‘hub’’ that the Dunedin City Council was planning in South Dunedin for its library and other government services would be able to incorporate a Postshop.
But Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke said financial losses for NZ Post ultimately hit the taxpayer and it had to move with the times.
‘‘Maintaining 79 individual post offices is an inefficient use of taxpayer resources, considering these services could easily be integrated into other businesses.’’