Posties defended for hard work but questions about package delays remain

Several people have complained about lengthy delivery delays, but just as many people have pointed out the fault isn’t at the end of the chain.

“There might have been a delay from where it came from, the driver doesn't know about your parcel and its history, especially when he has another 199 parcels in his van,” one woman wrote on social media.

“All he knows is that it arrived the night before and he is delivering it today.”

The spirited defence went on, with another woman writing “they can’t deliver something before it’s arrived in Wagga.”

Suzie Theobold said she was delighted when online tracking showed a Christmas present had arrived in Sydney on December 12, but it didn’t get to her door in Wagga until January 9.

“It’s never taken that long from Sydney before,” Ms Theobold said.

“I thought they must have been busy over Christmas, but I was tracking it on PayPal and once it got to Sydney that was it.

“Since it was a Christmas present I had to go buy something else and explain the delay – if I order Christmas presents online this year I might start in winter.”

Automated parcel systems installed in late 2014 appear to be the culprit – sending packages the wrong way or failing to distinguish between destination and return addresses, but an Australia Post spokeswoman said there were no operational delays for mail and parcel delivery in Wagga.

“We are committed to providing the community with a reliable, accessible and sustainable mail delivery service,” she said.

“Local priority mail for Wagga is processed and delivered locally, all other mail is transferred to our major mail centre in Canberra for processing using automation technology.

“We continue to exceed our service performance target of 94 per cent, delivering more than 98 per cent of letters on time or early – this is externally audited and verified.”

However, San Isidore resident Gretchen Sleeman said delivery was faster in the days of Cobb and Co.

“If you post something to Wagga it can take up to a week,” she said. “In that time you could walk into town, deliver it by hand yourself and walk home five times over.”

Australia Post encouraged people with enquiries about their mail delivery to log an enquiry at auspost.com.au/help or call 13 POST.