QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Ms WELLS (Lilley—Minister for Sport and Minister for Communications) (14:56): I thank the member for Clark for his question. I think I might speak for everyone here when I say that we love our local post offices and that many communities, particularly regional and rural communities, are dependent upon them. Australia Post represents more than just a post office.

It is a hub for the community and for banking and for other services that would otherwise be non-existent in these areas. No-one likes to see them close. Regrettably, sometimes they have to close, particularly if a licensee operator hands back the licence.

It's not something that Australia Post can control, but it is something that Australia Post must manage. Under our system. Australia Post is a government owned corporation.

It has a board and an executive who make decisions about the post office network. The corporation must be sustainable. It needs to cover its costs.

But within that framework the government expects Australia Post to meet its community standards, and, in particular, the government requires that Australia Post maintains a minimum of 4,000 post offices, a number that it currently exceeds. As I said, in some cases and for a range of reasons, like sickness or retirement or personal circumstances, licensed post offices do close suddenly.

Often this happens with very little notice both to its customers and to Australia Post itself. In my own community, Pinkenba Licensed Post Office is suddenly closing. Like the member for Clark, I know that will impact my community in Lilley.

I'm happy to arrange a meeting for the member for Clark with the CEO of Australia Post about his specific concerns in West Hobart, just as I'm raising my own concerns about Pinkenba. The member has raised some broader concerns about the licensing network. Australia Post is working with its licensees to modernise the arrangements that govern those commercial relationships.

The licensing model is decades old. It has served Australia Post and Australia very well over that time, but we cannot ignore that things are changing and that arrangements between Australia Post and its licensees must reflect that. You only need to look at the mobile phones in your pockets to understand why.

There is a dramatic decline in the letter business. There is a dramatic decline in the retail foot traffic. All of that must be considered not just by Australia Post but by the licensing networks, many of whom are mum-and-dad small businesses in our communities.

The government will continue to work with Australia Post and all stakeholders to ensure that it remains financially sustainable and continues to meet the needs of our Australian community. I'm confident that if we all work together in good faith, Australia Post and our valued licensees will renew their partnership for many years to come.