MICHELLE ROWLAND MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS
MEMBER FOR GREENWAY


FLETCHER DODGES QUESTIONS ABOUT POSTIES BEING FORCED TO DELAY DELIVERIES IN MARCH AND APRIL
 

A report today in The New Daily has raised serious questions as to why postal workers across the country were prevented from delivering parcels and mail over March and April.
 
As noted in today’s report:
 
“Some posties have claimed that, since March, they have been ordered to stop working overtime to deliver leftover packages at the end of their shifts, as was previously accepted practice.”
 
“Photos taken inside one delivery centre and sent to The New Daily show Express Post parcels stored underneath a delivery manager’s desk, which The New Daily understands was done to prevent posties from delivering them on the day the photo was taken.”
 
Tellingly, not only did Minister Fletcher refuse to respond to questions or offer any explanation, but instead bizarrely attempted to dismiss the actions of Australia Post and the evidence of postal workers as a “Labor scare campaign”.
 
This is the same incompetent Communications Minister who an RMIT fact check found was misleading about ABC cuts.
 
It also happens to be same untrustworthy Minister who Nine revealed knowingly misled about the size of Government support for Arts workers (by a factor of ten) despite being repeatedly warned by Departmental officials not to conflate the data.
 
This raises a very serious question: why were postal workers prevented from delivering parcels and mail?
 
Further evidence from the Senate Inquiry
 
Postal Worker: “On 13 May 2020, the honourable Senator Kimberley Kitching asked for a list to be provided where mail has been withheld since the regulation changes have been implemented. It is question on notice 1524—you can probably check that better than me. She was answered by honourable Senator Linda Reynolds that no mail product had been withheld.  Now, that is a blatant untruth.  I work at a delivery centre. Some days four runs aren't delivered, some days two, some days one, but mail is being withheld from customer that pay to get the mail delivered and it sits in the delivery centre.
 
…everyone I have spoken to is happy to continue delivering every day to our public whatever parcels we can fit, whatever mail we have. We cannot understand why, if you pay for a service, you're not going to receive that service until two or three days later. As far as I'm concerned, that's not good.”
 
And
 
Senator SMITH: Beyond the issue of resourcing, are you aware of any postal workers being explicitly directed to not deliver these items?
 
Mr Murphy (CEPU): Correct.
 
And
 
Senator CARR: ..evidence has been put to this committee that there were instructions issued to postal outlets to actually withhold mail deliveries. Has that been brought to your attention prior to this?
 
Departmental Official: I don't recall that being brought to our attention.
 
Senator CARR: I just want to be clear about this, because that's quite a serious proposition that's been put to us by postal workers—saying that mail has been withheld from delivery, couldn't be delivered, which of course would go into the collection of statistics as to what's happening with mail delivery. You're not familiar with that evidence?
 
Departmental Official: Senator, I heard that evidence earlier today. We received no information or evidence, we were not advised in any way, that mail was being withheld.
 
THURSDAY, 30 JULY 2020