Te Mai Post Shop in Whangārei is just metres from the region's main hospital and caters to a diverse range of customers, who travel for their services. Photo / Brodie Stone
As NZ Post pulls out of more than 140 stores across the country, Northlanders fear the decision will further isolate rural and elderly communities.
Postal services are set to be pulled from five Northland stores: Mangawhai, Moerewa, Ōpua, Te Mai West and Tikipunga.
The change comes after an update on the Deed of Understanding between NZ Post and the Government, which reset the minimum store requirements.
NZ Post says the move will result in fewer stores but a better experience for customers, with 90% of Kiwis living in urban areas still within 4km of a store.
The owners of Te Mai Post Shop on Maunu Rd, who did not want to be named, say they cater to a large portion of the community who live further afield than that.
Some customers from the township of Maungatāpere used their services, more than 10km away.
Those services included a PO Box system, parcel collection and sending, letter-sending and bill payments.
The pair have lived in Whangārei for 35 years, first managing the dairy on the corner for 20 years. Some 15 years ago, they moved into the Te Mai Post Centre.
Customers included residents of nearby retirement villages and Whangārei Hospital staff.
“We have customers that have been coming here for 15 years,” they said.
The pair were looking to retire, but, with the NZ Post part of the business gone, there wasn’t much left to sell.
Their new options were to either sell the building or find tenants with a business of their own.
Ōpua General Store manager Harpreet Singh said he would be sharing feedback from the community with NZ Post today.
Many had reacted with concern over the change, with the closest NZ Post services nearly 6km away.
But it wasn’t just local customers who would be impacted, Singh explained.
Ōpua served a large international market who were commuting from place to place, and the waterfront postal services were a practical option.
Singh said the store had provided postal services since the early 1900s.
“The post office has always been part of Ōpua from day one.”
In Tikipunga, the local dairy manager, who did not want to be named, was equally frustrated.
They worried about the impact on the older generation who liked to send parcels and often asked for help to do so.
“The elderly people around here that come in here that now can’t,” they said.
“These people don’t even have phones.”
Mid North Grey Power secretary Bruce Crowther felt the changes marked another step towards isolating the region’s older generation further.
“It’s the thin end of the wedge,” Crowther said.
“Access to services is difficult in this province and it’s only getting worse.
“Some of us can’t see, some of us have trouble standing up and walking, some of us no longer have a licence, or we can’t afford a car.”
According to Moerewa Blue Lagoon Four Square owner Balvantkumar Patel, that was also the case for some of his customers.
Much of the demographic in the immediate area were retirees.
Patel was also concerned about the impact on those who relied on the PO Box system.
Residents in wider rural areas made use of PO boxes for ease, he explained.
Mangawhai GAS shareholder Sheila Hassall was also thinking of the rural community.
“A lot of our customers here are rural and coming down here to post their parcels is quite convenient.”
She said pulling the “bread and butter” service would have a “huge impact” on the local community.
For Tiaho Trust chief executive Jonny Wilkinson, it was an equity issue.
“From a disability perspective, the closure of local post office services highlights a growing digital divide between those who can easily access and navigate online services, and those who cannot.”
Paying bills, sending forms, or accessing government correspondence was more accessible in person, he said.
“If public services continue to move online without maintaining accessible, local alternatives, we risk deepening isolation and exclusion for disabled people and older people, especially in rural areas.
NZ Post general manager consumer Sarah Sandoval said the organisation made its decisions after a careful, evidence‑based review of how customers were using services.
She said some stores were identified early as being visited less often, and those owners were told well in advance.
The full network review, combined with analysis of customer behaviour, drive times and retail data, shaped the final decisions announced last week.
Sandoval said maintaining access to postal services remained a priority, but acknowledged the changes would be an adjustment for some.
“The approach we have taken has allowed us to design a retail network with the right mix of stores and services in the right locations, ensuring access for communities while keeping the network sustainable for the future.”
After the changes, NZ Post services will remain at 14 retail stores across Northland.
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.