Karamea P.O. protesters supported by 400

Press, 10 February 1988, Page 3

Karamea P.O. protesters supported by 400

By

DAVID CLARKSON

and SUE LANCASTER

More than 400 local people turned out yesterday to show their support for the Karamea Post Office defenders, but they also face a difficult choice.

New Zealand Post sent a van into the township yesterday as an alternative to the postal services lost in Friday’s closing.

Local boxholders can pick up their mail from the van, which will be back again on Thursday.

A spokesman for the nine people occupying the closed post office, Mr Alf

Gahan, said many residents thought that using the van amounted to an acceptance of the post office closing.

Mr Gahan said he wanted Karamea residents to think carefully about what might happen if they decided to use the van service. It might be seen by New Zealand Post as an indication that they did not need private boxes.

However, he did not want any pressure put on Karamea residents to refuse to use the van.

Some of them were waiting for pay cheques

through the mail, and one woman was waiting for a pair of spectacles to arrive, he said. More than 200 people took part in a protest outside the Granity Post Office yesterday in support of the Karamea stand. A spokesman for the protest said they were also drawing attention to the Granity Post Office closing. The protesters, some aged more than 80, were outside the post office with placards for three hours.

The same nine Karamea protesters who took over the office last Friday are still occupying

the building, and the Post Office Union’s four-person picket line was in place for its second day yesterday.

The big show of support by townspeople was arranged for a visit by a television film crew.

The continuation of the protest will depend on the outcome of a High Court hearing in Wellington today, in which the West Coast United Council will ask for a ruling on whether the Government had to consult the council under the regional planning scheme before closing West Coast post offices.