The government owned Australia Post has negotiated a phone recharge commission with Vodafone of 7% on behalf of its Licenced Post Office (LPO) retail network. I assume the commission is the same for government owned post office outlets.
Independent newsagents have been told by Vodafone that their new commission will be 5%.
There are more newsagents than LPOs. The difference is that the newsagent network is made up of 4,600 independent stores whereas the LPO network, while privately owned, has the government owner Australia Post as the Master Franchisor.
This is another example of government ownership being used to the benefit of Australia Post and to the detriment of independent businesses like newsagents.
The government has no business owning and operatuing a retail network.