CLOSURE OF THE TARALGA Community Service Centre and Post Office

On Thursday 9 May 2024 Upper Lachlan Shire Council (ULSC) voted, at a closed meeting, to terminate the services provided at the Taralga Community Service Centre, which includes all services offered by Australia Post.  Despite the significant impact of the loss of this vital service, no consultation has occurred and no financial reasoning for this decision has been provided to the community.

The Post Office is a vital service to our community, in that:

·       The older members of our little Village rely on the banking and other services provided by the Australia Post.  Many of these people cannot drive to Crookwell or Goulburn.

·       Impacts on many small businesses in the area to dispatch their goods to clients in Australia and overseas.  The delays and extra cost now placed upon these small businesses will impact the viability of those businesses.  It’s approximately an 80 km round trip to either Crookwell or Goulburn.

The ULSC acknowledge that the Post Office and its building is a significant heritage site in Taralga. To quote the Upper Lachlan Shire Heritage Study produced by ULSC in 2010: … The Taralga Post Office building is locally significant because it represents the expansion of postal and telegraphic services to Taralga and district. In April 2007, the Australian Government Regional Partnerships program with funding of more than $199,000 assisted the Upper Lachlan Shire Council to purchase and renovate the former Taralga Post Office, transforming it into a Community Service Centre with disabled access.

Our local post office is more than just a place to send and receive mail; it is an integral part of our community's fabric.

The residents of Taralga call on the Upper Lachlan Shire Council to hold a meeting in Taralga, in the coming week, to present their financial justification for the closure of the Service Centre, and to correspondingly listen to the voices of the people of Taralga regarding the importance of our Post Office.

We also ask the Shadow Minister for Local Government, and our local Member, Wendy Tuckerman, to investigate both the reasons behind the closure and the closed-door meeting which made this decision.  This decision must be reversed either by the ULSC or the NSW Minister for Local Government

Please sign this petition today and help to reverse this decision as soon as possible!