Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes has joined a community fight to save his local post office in St Kilda, Melbourne amid a string of Australia Post closures.
The radio presenter, 53, shared his impassioned thoughts as more than 100 locals gathered outside the St Kilda South post office on Thursday to protest its closure.
Australia Post recently announced their intention to shut the facility on July 19 due to declining foot traffic, claiming visits to the branch had dropped by 20 per cent.
However, locals have railed against the news, arguing it is a vital community hub, particularly for elderly and disabled residents who rely on the nearby post office.
Comedian Hughesy joined the call for action as he spoke to A Current Affair while shopping at the local branch where residents had gathered to post their petition.
‘I’m absolutely devastated! This is my local and they cannot close this post office,’ Hughesy, who has lived in St Kilda for 25 years, said.
‘This is not right, it’s not right! I don’t know who to – what are we going to do? This is crazy. This post office is a local institution and it should not close down.’
St Kilda locals have signed and posted a petition in a bid to save their post office’s future to Australia Post CEO Paul Graham, urging him to keep the local branch open.
Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes has joined a community fight to save his local post office in a Melbourne suburb amid a string of Australia Post closures
‘We want the post office to stay,’ long-time St Kilda resident Angel told A Current Affair.
Meanwhile, Local Federal MP Josh Burns said: ‘I’ve raised this issue with the Minister for Communication Michelle Rowland.
‘We had a meeting about how important this post office is for our community. I’m doing everything to support our community and I’ll keep doing that.’
The Frankston post office branch in south-east Melbourne is also due to close next month after customer visits dropped by 40 per cent since 2020.
However, locals have questioned the figures as they argued the Covid-19 pandemic from early 2020 until mid 2023 would have heavily affected the footfall figures.
‘That four-year period includes the long lockdowns in Victoria, so of course the numbers are lower,’ Acland Street Village Business Association president Janet Rosenberg said.
Amid the closures, Australia Post argued there are 30 post offices within 5kms of the St Kilda South branch, with the nearest alternative option lying 1.2km away.
Though other branches remain in St Kilda West, on St Kilda Road and Brighton Road, many enraged locals have argued it is not as simple as just visiting another branch.
The radio presenter, 53, shared his impassioned thoughts with A Current Affair as more than 100 locals gathered outside the St Kilda South post office on Thursday to protest its closure
They said elderly residents in particular rely on their local branch being within walking distance and do not have cars, meaning they will now have to get public transport to visit their nearest branch.
They argued it is a vital community hub and claimed the closure will affect local businesses, driving foot traffic from residents away from the area.
Australia Post – which has more than 4,200 post offices nationally – said it has lost $200million over the last financial year and it isn’t ‘sustainable’ to maintain its large network, potentially hinting at more closures to come.
‘As more people transact online, it isn’t financially sustainable to maintain such a large network of Post Offices, particularly in metropolitan areas where there is a significant oversupply,’ they said in a statement.
‘All team members from St Kilda South and Frankston Central have been offered roles at Post Offices located nearby or closer to home.
‘Australia Post continues to regularly review its retail footprint and carefully consider when to close, relocate or open post offices.’
Australia Post has more than 4,200 branches nationally and is required to maintain 4,000, with 2,500 in regional areas, with CEO Mr Graham arguing there are more post offices than supermarkets in some areas.
Australia Post announced their intention to shut the facility on July 19 due to declining foot traffic, claiming visits to the branch had dropped by 20%, but locals have protested the move
Earlier this year, Mr Graham faced a huge backlash when he warned that more post offices would need to close for the business to remain viable.
After a postal shake-up last year, Australia Post confirmed its performance had improved in the first half of 2024, with a record of nearly 100million parcels delivered.
The service reported an interim profit of $33.6million, prompting many local politicians and post office workers to hit back against the news of further closures.
Despite the half-year profit, Australia Post said the letters business still reported a $182million loss while declining customer visits to post offices were impacting the business’ ‘long-term viability’.
Mr Graham also said Australia Post was on track to record another full-year loss this year, after the $200million loss last financial year.
