A resource and tourism hub in WA’s north-west could soon be without postal and banking services, as the owners consider closing the doors after failing to sell.<\/p>\n
It is one of a string of regional businesses struggling to attract buyers.<\/p>\n
Posties General Store in Onslow, 1,300 kilometres north of Perth, operates as a post office, bank, newsagency, bottle shop and lottery office.<\/p>\n
Gerard and Judy Carroll have owned the business for 27 years and have been trying to sell it for the past two.<\/p>\n
“We will have to give Australia Post three months’ notice, and we’ll just have to close it down,” Mr Carroll said.<\/p>\n
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About 900 people live in the coastal community of Onslow.\u00a0 (ABC News: Mietta Adams)<\/p>\n
Onslow is one of four key towns in the Shire of Ashburton, all without a single bank branch.<\/p>\n
Personal and business banking plays a large part in Posties.<\/p>\n
“If there are no buyers, if we have to close down and they haven’t got any alternatives, there will be an impact,” Mr Carroll said.<\/p>\n
The nearest town with post office and banking is Karratha, 300 kilometres away.<\/p>\n
Onslow Beach resort manager Ben Matters said the store was essential for the community of nearly 1,000 residents.<\/p>\n
“It’s a vital cog in a really bustling little community town,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We rely on it quite heavily, we’re a long way from everywhere else, so they’re a really important part of our local community.”<\/p>\n
He said the community should start thinking about “strategies around what to do” if it closed.<\/p>\n
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Onslow is 300 kilometres from Karratha, its nearest large town. (ABC News: Mietta Adams)<\/p>\n
Others struggle to sell<\/p>\n
The struggle to find a buyer in Onslow is part of a larger trend of businesses struggling to attract investment across regional WA.<\/p>\n
Carnarvon automotive business owner, Ben Broeder, said he had been “rattling cages” for a buyer for his business since Christmas last year.<\/p>\n
He said forced closures in regional areas were a “sad reality” with challenges attracting staff, housing shortages, and expensive freight and insurance costs.<\/p>\n
“Everything’s fighting against business owners,” Mr Broeder said.<\/p>\n