Merrigum post office told get Covid vaccinated or risk closing

An anti-vaxxer who owns a small post office in regional Victoria has decided to get vaccinated after she faced closing her doors for good.

The owner of a regional Victorian post office says she has reluctantly decided to get a Covid jab to keep her business open because the state government has her “bent over abarrel”.

Authorised workers across Victoria needed to have at least one dose of a Covid vaccine by October 15 to keep working on site.

Angela Spedding, who owns the Merrigum post office and newsagency about 25km from Shepparton, says she was threatened with the closure of her business if she didn’t at least book a vaccine by the deadline.

Ms Spedding has ran the post office on her own for more than six years and also lives onsite during the week.

On Monday, she told customers she would be closing with mail to be redirected to the neighbouring town of Girgarre, about 20km away.

But Ms Spedding says she has been forced to change her mind.

Supplied Editorial Angela Spedding

“The government has got me bent over a barrel with their vaccine mandate,” she said.

“What choice do I have other than to getting vaccinated? If this was a job where I didn’t own the business and could walk away, I just would.

“I have my reasons for not wanting to get the vaccine and it has to do with the information which has been available to me.

“All of this has worn me out in the past few days. I am finishing some days in tears.”

Ms Spedding said closing the business would mean a major loss for a small community with an “older population”.

“I’m not just thinking about me but the Merrigum community as well,” she said.

“Some people don’t drive in town and if they lose the post office it means it might not be easy for them to collect their mail.

“When I took over, I had about 50 people with PO boxes but that’s now well in excess of 100 with some residents coming from neighbouring towns.”

When Ms Spedding took to social media telling people she wasn’t getting jabbed, she was met criticism.

“Some people don’t understand my situation but I’m not bothered by what they have to say,” she said.

“I have children who are vaccinated and I fully respect their decision to do that.

“I can’t afford to leave my business behind.”

An Australia Post spokesperson said “as it has throughout the Covid pandemic, Australia Post is complying with all government requirements and health directions”.