Mail mess affectinghundreds: mayor

Hundreds of letters addressed to parts of Port Hedland where posties do not deliver are being returned to senders on a weekly basis instead of being diverted to PO boxes.

The non-deliverable zones are Wedgefield and Redbank and the South Hedland CBD.

Town of Port Hedland Mayor Camilo Blanco said he had been trying for months to meet with the South Hedland postmaster to see why information linking residential addresses to PO boxes had not been established in all of the areas involved.

When contacted by the North West Telegraph this week, Australia Post agreed to meet Mr Blanco and write to all PO box customers “to encourage the appropriate use of their mailing address so letters and parcels are delivered quickly and accurately”. Australia Post said homes and businesses in Wedgefield received parcel deliveries by van because it was an industrial zone that posed “a number of safety concerns for our posties”.

“If mail is posted to a street address, our post office team cross reference PO box data to make sure items are delivered to the right recipient,” an Australia Post spokesperson said.

“We are aware a large number of households and businesses are not using their PO box address to receive mail, which is causing delays in re-delivery and we are arranging a meeting to discuss this with the mayor.”

Mr Blanco said no letters were finding their way to PO boxes in the restricted areas where there was no postal delivery service.

“I can categorically tell you that mail addressed to residential and business addresses in Wedgefield, Redbank and the South Hedland CBD is not being redirected to PO boxes,” he said.

He estimated between 400 and 500 people were being affected and said post office staff previously referred to a list that linked addresses to PO boxes.

“I do not know why they changed the way they do this ...

I saw about 80-100 letters being returned to senders in a sack at the post office in just one day,” he said.