LICENSEE Trish Firth remains hopeful the Lambton Post Office will remain open after an overwhelming show of support from the community.
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A petition with almost 4000 signatures calling on Australia Post to reverse its plans to close the Elder Street service on May 1 will be presented to Federal Member for Newcastle, Sharon Claydon, on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Ms Claydon confirmed she would present the petition to Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland, next Monday.
"They [the Lambton community] are in an uproar, they are," Ms Firth said.
"They've been very supportive of it because they don't want to see it go because it's been here for 150 years. It would be really sad if that happens."
Ms Frith has a fixed-term agreement for the post office, meaning the business' ownership is retained by Australia Post. The business also includes a newsagency, which Ms Firth owns.
On January 30 she was advised by Australia Post to submit her 90-day notice, because Ms Firth was seeking to sell the newsagency and had a prospective buyer interested in tendering for the post office's fixed-term agreement.
Ms Firth claims the Federally-owned Australia Post used that as an opportunity to close the post office. The Elermore Vale and Glendale post offices have also closed in the past six months.
Ms Firth said following the outpouring of community support she has decided not to sell the newsagency and hopes to retain the post office service too.
"I'm going to try my hardest to keep it running, for sure," Ms Firth said of the newsagency.
"It'll be hard [without the post office], but it'll still run. I have so much support around here that I think we'll be fine."
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
