Postal service cancellation forces Coral Bay residents into 300km rountrip to Exmouth to collect mail

The canning of a postal service in Coral Bay has left residents, tourists and seasonal workers facing a 300km drive to Exmouth to receive mail. The decision came after the newsagency lease of Australia Post’s current agent was not renewed. The town’s postal service has operated from a roadside trailer for more than a year. All post must be collected from Exmouth during business hours. Newsagent owner Mark Young said leaving work to collect mail was problematic. “I have had to readjust all of my deliveries, and I have had to drive a 300km round-trip just to organise a mail service for my staff because a lot of them don’t have vehicles,” he said. “It is very awkward because the amount of tourism happening at the moment it is hard to leave my business. “I have sent through letters to ask Australia Post if we can help facilitate a mail service in Coral Bay through one of our commercial sites.” Mr Young said Australia Post should restart the mail service at the shopping arcade in the town centre. Australia Post government and regulatory affairs head David Jancik confirmed the move in a letter last week, citing “ongoing issues” with the service’s location since 2019 as a key factor. “Due to circumstances beyond Australia Post’s control, the Coral Bay Community Postal Agency has ceased operating from its current location at 79 Banksia Drive, Coral Bay,” Mr Jancik said. “Australia Post, and the current Agent of the Coral Bay CPA, remain committed to servicing residents in Coral Bay, and we will continue to seek a permanent solution with local representatives.” An Australia Post spokesman didn’t say what issues led to the decision to scrap the Coral Bay service, nor what other options to continue mail delivery had been investigated. “With an agent in place in Coral Bay until March 2024, Australia Post is not seeking other expressions of interest at this stage,” he said. North West Central MLA Vince Catania said Australia Post had a responsibility to engage a new provider. “Australia Post is abdicating its responsibility in providing a vital service for those people to reside in Coral Bay,” he said. “To make a decision for people in Coral Bay to do a 300km round-trip is nonsensical and quite frankly it is outrageous,” he said. “It shows they do not understand the distances involved in the North West and how this impacts dramatically on peoples lives.” Mr Catania said the decision to cut the service amounted to Australia Post “punishing” Coral Bay.