MEDIA STATEMENT
JCA is calling on every local business owner to stand with the rest of the business community and with local residents, and refuse to do a franchise deal with NZ Post.
NZ Post has been planning for a year to replace its reliable Post Shop in Johnsonville with counters in an unknown retailer.
NZ Post documents released to Johnsonville Community Association (JCA) under the Official Information Act include a NZ Post Board paper showing that Johnsonville Post Shop is part of a nationwide plan to replace all Post Shops with a so-called “third party hosted model”.
“This means the twenty-seven thousand people in Wellington’s Northern Suburbs will lose their proper main Post Shop; we’ll have to make do with a counter in some other shop — it could be a petrol station, supermarket, pharmacy, or even a shipping container,” said JCA president Simon Pleasants.
“In other towns, NZ Post has been so desperate to close their Post Shop that they even did deals with video stores; you can guess how long that lasted, but NZ Post doesn’t seem to care.
“NZ Post has a legal duty as a State Owned Enterprises Act to prove it is socially responsible, with real regard for the interests of every community in which it operates.
“We want NZ Post to abide by the law and prove how swapping a full Post Shop for a supermarket counter works well for its customers. How would NZ Post know? It didn’t even consult local people to find out what they thought.
“NZ Post’s plot is short-sighted, anti-social and counterproductive because Johnsonville is the commercial, transport and recreational centre for the whole of the Northern Suburbs. Local authorities class it effectively as a town within the city, slated for rapid growth in the next decade.
“Current and future local people and businesses deserve better, and that’s why we want business owners not to enter franchise talks with NZ Post.”
Media contact: Simon Pleasants, President. jcainc2@gmail.com
The OIA request to NZ Post
On 5 November, JCA asked NZ Post:
- What proposals, if any, has New Zealand Post considered, during 2017 or 2018, to close, sell or otherwise divest the current Post Shop (post office), or any of its services, on Johnsonville Road in Johnsonville? Please include:
- A copy of the proposal(s) and details pertaining to these proposals/plans, including any proposed timeline
- An outline of your proposal to consult with local residents about the proposal(s)
Documents released under the Official Information Act by New Zealand Post on 21 November:
- NZ Post Shop OIA 1 – NZP Board paper extracts 23Nov17
- NZ Post Shop OIA 1 – Johnsonville LowerHutt Petone Communications Plan redacted
- NZ Post Shop OIA 1 – Johnsonville LowerHutt Petone FAQ
- NZ Post Shop OIA 1 – NZP Letter to JCA
- NZ Post Shop OIA 1 – NZP Media Statement on Johnsonville Lower Hutt and Petone postal ser…
Compare what’s available at local Post Shops against franchised services
What’s on offer at local postal outlets
Johnsonville Community Association 
It’s official with the apparatus of takeaways on Johnsonville High Street it has become a toilet. Not only the post office closing but we have pop in mall with pop of shops that now I do most of my shopping in Petone or Porirua. Mark my words when that new library opens it will be descended upon to a cloud of locusts as the area is so starved of facilities. I also heard from a person on the street that she lives with someone who works for some education place said Johnsonville is earmarked to be a student hub/flats/hostel. I was surprised of the idea as it isn’t close to any tertiary providers. Further very few places for them to work thus nothing for them to do up here. No skate park/ring or even a beach nearby. I guess the WCC is determine to make Johnsonville a living hell hole.
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