THE post office on Wells Street in Frankston has shut its doors for good. Pleas from more than 1500 people to keep the post office open ultimately fell on deaf ears, as Australia Post pushed ahead with its planned 9 August closure. Two petitions protesting the decision, started by the Frankston Business Collective and Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke respectively, received nearly 1800 combined signatures.
Dunkley MP Jodie Belyea, Frankston mayor Nathan Conroy, and Frankston Council CEO Phil Cantillon met with Australia Post CEO Paul Graham in June to discuss the planned closure, but could not convince him to change his mind. Last week, Belyea said she would “continue to work with Australia Post to ensure other services are maintained and improved at neighbouring locations.”
“I want to thank every community member that stopped me in the street, wrote to me and signed the petitions to show our community’s opposition to this decision. I know this is not the outcome we all wanted,” she said. “I share your disappointment at Australia Post’s decision. In June, I met with Mr Paul Graham, CEO of Australia Post, to share the community’s deep concerns and pass on the hundreds of signatures that had been gathered. Unfortunately, Australia Post did not see the importance of an office in the Frankston CBD.”
The nearest post office to Wells Street is a licensed post office at 58 Yuille Street, around two kilometres away. 221 PO box customers at Wells Street will be moved to the Frankston PO Box Centre at 27 – 31 Playne St.
First published in the Frankston Times – 13 August 2024