Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times
Bute’s post office has the potential to become a thriving, privately run, business in the future, thanks to strong results achieved in the past decade under the management of Barunga West Council.
That was the assessment included in a report by CEO Maree Wauchope, tabled at council’s April meeting.
Council entered into a licensing agreement to provide a Licensed Post Office from its Bute branch office in 2003.
Ms Wauchope said the post office function was delivering an annual income of $75,000, which covered the salaries of council staff members who work at the post office, plus other operational expenses.
“The LPO function provided at Bute would provide a strong financial platform for a local business to build a thriving business and the licence could, in the future, attract private sector interest,” she said.
The financial results for the LPO contrasted with the results recorded in the last similar report submitted to council in 2013, when there was an annual cash deficit of between $6500 and $14,500.
The Bute LPO also serves as a council branch office, library and Rural Transaction Centre, which provides services for Centrelink, Medicare and Services SA.
Ms Wauchope said the RTC could be well placed to increase offerings in retail, financial and government services and provide more e-commerce and other network capabilities, in the near future.
During the past three years, the Bute Post Office handled up to 1000 transactions a month, which peaked during Covid and offered 200 PO boxes, with 190 currently in use.
Ms Wauchope said in addition to being one of only two retailers in Bute and providing the town’s only banking service, the post office also provided a physical space for social interaction and community development.
BWC administration officer Sonia Francis regularly staffs the Bute LPO and she said local people appreciated the personal service that it offered.
“We have a lot of older people and they like to come in and do their bills over the counter, rather than on the internet,” she said.
This article appeared in the Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 26 April 2023.
