p>Dear Editor,
I write in reply to your article of 18 November ‘Mail Fail’ by Gav McGrath.
The fact that residents of Ballarat and our broader region are waiting anywhere from four to seven days for mail is unacceptable.
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Dear Editor,
I write in reply to your article of 18 November ‘Mail Fail’ by Gav McGrath.
The fact that residents of Ballarat and our broader region are waiting anywhere from four to seven days for mail is unacceptable.
In September, I stood with workers from the Ballarat Mail Centre and the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) to highlight concerns about Australia Post’s plans to cut next day delivery services from regional centres such as Ballarat.
However, it has taken the bravery of a single employee to speak up and get this issue on the front page where it belongs.
Residents in regional Victoria pay the same for their mail service as people do in the cities but they’re not getting the same services.
Today, an elderly woman from Sebastopol phoned my office that is unable to leave her home and depends on the reliable delivery of prescriptions from her doctor for essential medication. Her most recent prescription was posted last Tuesday and is yet to arrive.
Ballarat residents shouldn’t be waiting six days for delivery – when mail sent locally should arrive the very next day.
The Ballarat Mail Centre is facing gradual cuts by attrition as Australia Post and the Coalition Government abandons Ballarat by transferring mail sorting services to Dandenong. If this continues these services will only get worse.
Our local postal employees work extremely hard but they are increasingly being asked to do more with less. Ballarat deserves first class mail services and to achieve that we need to maintain safe and secure local jobs.
I call on Minister Turnbull to intervene and ensure our community is not burdened with further damaging cuts.
Catherine King MP
Federal Member for Ballarat