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The Last Post THUR 01.07.21 - WED 07.07.21
EDITION 1033
DELIVERED AND FREE
Mail shock for Hikuwai residents Lauren Prebble
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
I
t’s a story that’s long overdue”. These are the words from miffed Hikuwai resident Jacqueline Slavich. She and other homeowners in the Hikuwai subdivision have been without NZ Post deliveries since they moved into their new home in September. “The builder built a letterbox... we assumed to put the letterbox up,” she said. Soon after Jacqueline received mail - it was a formal announcement explaining why the post would no longer get through. The letter said New Zealand Post was committed to providing “a sustainable mail and parcel delivery service for New Zealand” and “as part of the ongoing sustainability of New Zealand Post we are looking at how we deliver mail into all new subdivisions”. Its preferred option for Hikuwai was to cluster mail boxes around a central point in the subdivision. “Currently there is no mail delivery to your subdivision,” the letter continued. “Implementation of mail delivery is being investigated. In the meantime, please do not erect a mailbox until this process has been completed”. Jaqueline understood a “a bank of letterboxes” would be available by March. “Then March came and went.” For the meantime, the 150 households in the Hikuwai subdivision were required to redirect post to the nearest PO Box outlet. “People don’t like things sprung on them,” says Jacqueline. NZ Post’s nationwide “new identity” rollout was announced on Monday. Standard post will
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be rolled in with courier services - branding for the exercise has reportedly cost $15 million. In response to questions from The Wānaka Sun a NZ Post spokesperson said the changes to the look of the NZ Post brand was not an organisational restructure, “and mail delivery to the Hikuwai development in Wānaka was in no way related to the shift to a single brand”. NZ Post did apologise to the residents in Hikuwai. “The Hikuwai subdivision is one of a number of new developments in Queenstown Lakes District and Central Otago where we are requesting developers and residents to cluster their letter boxes. We need to make sure that the way we deliver mail to New Zealanders is financially sustainable and clustered letter boxes for new developments is an important step to ensure NZ Post can deliver mail to these areas. “We have been in discussion with the Hikuwai subdivision developer about clustering letterboxes.” But it seems that information was lost in the post for Hikuwai developer Lee Brown. He says there was no correspondence with him about the postal change. “We had absolutely no idea that NZ Post would not be delivering to Hikuwai. There is no land set aside for cluster boxes, obviously, because like all other residential subdivisions in Wānaka the mail does and should get delivered to your mailbox outside your gate,” he said. Surrounding subdivisions North Lake and Albert Town continue with a door to door postal service, while Hikuwai residents, nestled in between an existing postal circuit, have their post transferred to PO Boxes. “We are a residential subdivision surrounded by residential on the Wānaka side and residential on the Albert town side,” Lee Brown said “The
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The post won't get through to Hikuwai.
natural boundary for Wānaka has always been the Clutha River. “We do not support cluster boxes and all of the residents that I have spoken to, who live in Hikuwai, would prefer their mail delivered to their house.” Jacqueline Slavich says she wholly understands the need for NZ Post to re-address
their faltering postal industry - but the absence of the letterbox has caused headaches for her athome sewing service. “It seems ridiculous. They come to Northlake… they drive straight pass… We’re just a little puddle in the middle”. Copies of The Wānaka Sun for Hikuwai residents are available from Monkey Farm.
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