WE WISH to comment on letters submitted by Lynette Hay, Christine Hayes and L. Lamb (Mail, 13 February).
We have not had discussions with any of the above mentioned people and wish to caution them in relation to the publication of hearsay concerning ourselves and our businesses.
We maintain, as we did seven years ago, that a main street location for the post office is more appropriate for the commercial viability of a town of Healesville’s size.
This is why we risked our own capital and took on the Licensed Post Office so the preference of the majority of the population could be tested.
Two post offices with the same facilities and same number of boxes.
As experienced business people, we make our decisions in relation to our commercial direction.
We refute the sentiments attributed to ourselves by the authors of these letters and assure the public that we are ready, willing and able to operate all facets of our business to the satisfaction of our customers and have always done so in an ethical and professional manner.
We publicly request that the authors desist from making comments about our workload, personal feelings and commercial arrangements with any of our franchises.
Con and Maree De Groot
Healesville
In defence of LPO
WITH all the hoo-hah going on about the closure of the Australia Post office at the Healesville Walk, I would suggest that we cast our memories back when the sweetheart deal that was offered by Coles to Australia Post to move out of the Main Street and relocate to the vacant space at the end of the then Coles building at The Healesville Walk.
The community was outraged, and rightly so, and about 600 genuine members of the community marched along Nicholson Street in protest.
They protested for good reason. The area known as the Main Street relied on the post office to assist with small business activity. Without the post office, the Main Street and all the small businesses would have suffered financially. Many would have closed and the natural balance needed for the prosperity of a small regional town would have been lost and destroyed and the development of the Main Street as we know it today would not have flourished as it has.
Because of the foresight of McEwen MP Fran Bailey and the generosity of Maree and Con De Groot of the Healesville Newsagency (who put their money where their heart was) and the will of the community, the LPO was established in the Main Street. This move not only saved the Main Street it has assisted in the prosperity and growth of businesses in the area.
The LPO, since its inception, has provided excellent service, opening every day, seven days a week: 7.30am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 7.30am to noon on Sunday. I doubt there is another post office in Australia that provides such a comprehensive postal service.
Unfortunately change is inevitable and if the Australia Post outlet at the Healesville Walk is not performing as well as the LPO and one of them has to go, so be it. I’m sure if the circumstances were reversed and the LPO was not performing we would be losing it instead.
Of course some members of the community will be upset and some will believe they have been badly done by, however commonsense says that a township of approximately 10,000 people doesn’t really warrant two post offices.
I’m sure Maree and Con De Groot will make the transition of going back to one post office as smooth as possible and will assist where ever they can.
Dot Peters
Healesville
Bloody-minded
AUSTRALIA Post continues to divide our community. Its appalling decision to withdraw the hard working staff from Healesville Walk Post Office at 5pm next Friday again shows a lack of consultation, a lack of transparency their bloody mindedness and a slap in the face to an already stressed but loyal personnel.
We now have evidence of a highly viable and profitable business taking over $500,000 per year, contrary to statements made by Australia Post staff.
Peter Lavis (Australia Post) I ask you what deals have been done behind closed doors and why?
Mary Rose Hookey
Healesville
WAS the small article in the Mail on 7 February a press release from our Federal Member, or was it a journalist’s report?
Is Fran Bailey not contesting the next election?
Judging by her actions concerning Australia Post and the LPO and her constituents, she must not be.
Ms Bailey made it quite clear she would not try to retain the post office at The Walk for her constituents.
It already has lighting, security, disability access and a large car park with disabled car parking. She must rather that the ratepayers of Healesville pay for all the above for a private business and Australia Post. Goodbye Fran!
Judith Port
Healesville
Common ground
I WRITE in response to Stewart Kerr’s letter (Mail, 13 February). My husband and I own a timber harvesting company. We acknowledge and respect the fact that there will always be those for and those against timber harvesting within Victoria.
What is concerning is that we as logging contractors are not publicly recognised for our contribution to (a) the environment and (b) our communities.
We have a young family and the last thing we would want is to destroy our beautiful country, cut ourselves out of an industry and leave a sparse landscape for future generations to fix.
Our machines are made available to DSE in times of bushfires. When called upon our harvesting operations cease and logging contractors put their lives and machinery on the line to protect state forest, national parks and water catchments.
This is done because logging contractors feel a sense of community responsibility as they have the equipment and the expertise to help in the fire fighting and fire suppression.
As members of TCA (Timber Communities Australia) we rely on Scott Gentle to publicly represent us, so that we don’t get victimised personally which has happened in the past. It is time to stop the bickering and work together to find some common ground so that timber harvesting in Victoria’s native forests is not seen as a political hot potato but as an integral and valued industry within our modern society.
Robyn McKinnell
Healesville
Another truth
I FIND it hard to believe that Peter Wadham (Logging Truths, Mail 6 February) and so many people like him have so much to say on logging, claiming that the logging industry is so dishonest.
If Mr Wadham has all these facts about logging I for one would like to see them. These people only seem to speak about studies that they agree with or what they want to believe.
I bet that he lives in a home built with timber and good quality timber not pulp that is not good enough for homes, furniture etc. I presume that the letters he writes are on paper and he would use paper products in his office, kitchen, toilet.
These people will not be happy until they stop timber harvesting all together. I would like to know what they would use in place of timber. Imported timbers from overseas, where logging practices are not controlled as ours? Or would they rather use plastic products? We all know what they do to the environment. Timber is the only renewable industry in the world. If you mine you leave big holes in the ground; if you cut down a tree and replant in the same spot it grows again, which is what is happening in our forests now. As they are harvested they are replanted, thus giving us good healthy forests for the future.
Trees don’t last forever. If people like Mr Wadham want to stop timber harvesting and lock up all forests eventually the trees will root and fall over and we will have no forests.
As for 500 year old eucalypts, not all species of eucalypts last that long. Mountain Ash starts to deteriorate after 80 years. If you look at the Black Spur it was burnt out totally in the 1939 bushfires and hand planted after the fires. Nearly 70 years down the track those trees are starting to fall over and I might add that it is only a matter of time before one of these trees falls on a vehicle and kills someone.
It’s a pity that the people who do nothing but criticise us didn’t take the time to go and look at how timber harvesting is done.
As far as the fires go, it is a condition of our contracts that if our equipment is needed to fight fires we must supply them.
We were up at Matlock putting fire breaks in to stop the fire getting into the Thompson Water catchment. It seems that our people and machines are good enough to save Melbourne Water but not good enough to earn an honest income in a sustainable lawful industry.
Sue McKinnell
Healesville
Who’s in favour?
AS AN interested onlooker I am perplexed at the ongoing discussion over the pros and cons of the Pace family scheme for the building of a Coles supermarket on the Warburton Highway at Seville.
Apart from the developer, who else is actually backing this scheme and secondly, and perhaps more importantly, just how many Seville residents strongly support the concept. I am aware the local IGA store conducted a petition against this development a while back, which over 2000 persons signed. This is a sufficient number to be a fair indication of the local residents’ feeling I would think, so the $40,000 question is just how many residents are actually in support of this totally inappropriate upheaval of our village.
Perhaps the conveners of the two recent information days held at the Pace Service Station could publish the number of people who actually put their name and address on the dotted line in support of their proposed development. It might make interesting reading.
Richard Couper
Seville
