Dave “Hughesy” Hughes has joined a community fight to save his local post office in St Kilda, Melbourne, amid a series of Australia Post closures.
The 53-year-old radio host shared his passionate thoughts as more than 100 local residents gathered outside the St Kilda South Post Office on Thursday to protest its closure.
Australia Post recently announced its intention to close the facility on July 19 due to declining foot traffic, saying visits to the branch had dropped by 20 percent.
However, locals have criticised the news, arguing that it is a vital community centre, particularly for elderly and disabled residents who rely on the nearby post office.
Comedian Hughesy joined the call to action when 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 office and they can’t close it down,” said Hughesy, who has lived in St Kilda for 25 years.
“This is not right, this is not right! I don’t know who to turn to, what are we going to do? This is crazy. This post office is a local institution and it should not close.”
St Kilda residents have signed and sent a petition to Australia Post CEO Paul Graham in a bid to save the future of their post office, 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 series of Australia Post closures.
“We want the post office to stay,” Angel, a long-time St Kilda resident, told A Current Affair.
Meanwhile, local federal MP Josh Burns said: ‘I have raised this issue with Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.
“We had a meeting about the importance of this post office to our community. I am doing everything I can to support our community and will continue to do so.”
The Frankston Post Office branch in Melbourne’s south-east will also close next month after customer visits fell 40 per cent since 2020.
However, locals have questioned the figures, arguing that the Covid-19 pandemic from early 2020 to mid-2023 would have greatly affected the footfall figures.
“That four-year period includes the long lockdowns in Victoria, so of course the numbers are lower,” said Janet Rosenberg, president of the Acland Street Village Business Association.
Amid the closures, Australia Post said there are 30 post offices within 5km of the St Kilda South branch, with the nearest alternative option 1.2km away.
Although there are still other branches in St Kilda West, on St Kilda Road and Brighton Road, many angry locals have argued that it is not as simple as visiting another branch.
The 53-year-old radio host shared his passionate 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 take public transportation to visit the nearest branch.
They argued that it is a vital community center and claimed that the closure will hurt local businesses by driving away foot traffic from area residents.
Australia Post, which has more than 4,200 post offices nationwide, said it lost $200 million in the last financial year and that it was “not sustainable” to maintain its vast network, a sign that more closures could be on the horizon.
“As more people conduct transactions online, it is not financially sustainable to maintain such a large network of post offices, particularly in metropolitan areas where there is significant oversupply,” they said in a statement.
‘All St Kilda South and Frankston Central team members have been offered positions in post offices located near or closer to home.
‘Australia Post continues to regularly review its retail presence and carefully considers when to close, relocate or open post offices.’
Australia Post has more than 4,200 branches nationwide and is required to maintain 4,000, 2,500 of them in regional areas; its chief executive, Mr Graham, argues that in some areas there are more post offices than supermarkets.
Australia Post announced its intention to close the facility on 19 July due to declining foot traffic, claiming visits to the branch had dropped by 20%, but locals 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.
Following a postal restructuring last year, Australia Post confirmed its performance had improved in the first half of 2024, with a record nearly 100 million parcels delivered.
The service reported an interim profit of $33.6 million, prompting many local politicians and postal workers to respond to the news of more closures.
Despite the half-year profit, Australia Post said its letters business still reported a loss of $182 million, while declining customer visits to post offices were affecting the “long-term viability” of the business.
Mr Graham also said Australia Post was on track to post another annual loss this year, following a $200 million loss last financial year.
