Australia Post is reportedly seeking an increase in the price of delivering a basic letter – from 55 cents to 60 cents. As I blogged here two and a half years ago, the European Union is seeking member countries to end mail monopolies.
The Government ought to thoroughly review the operations of Australia Post, from a policy perspective. This protected, government-owned, organisation ought to come under more scrutiny in terms of charges for its monopoly mail service and its use of this monopoly protected brand to take revenue in non-post areas such as greeting cards, stationery, gifts, calendars and books. They take this revenue, hundreds of millions of dollars a year, from independent small retailers like newsagents through their corporate owned stores.
The previous Government did not have the guts to investigate Australia Post despite solid evidence of the cost to small businesses. Hopefully, the current government will look at the economic cost of shifting revenue from independent retailers to Australia Post.
I hope that the government steps in on the price rise application by Australia Post and takes this and the broader Australia Post issues on board from a policy perspective. I am certain that business owners and many individuals would welcome an opportunity to be heard on the matter.
Hear hear!
Tragically the Govt lacks the intestinal fortitude to apply the same rules on AP as it has done to the CBA, Telstra et al.
As you would know surely Mark, the price rise is to go before the ACCC where extensive consultation with business customers is part of the review.
Prior to lodging the submission Aust Post say they have undertaken consultation with key customers and industry stakeholders.
Were the newsagent’s associations not active in this process? Maybe because your business also has price rises on a regular basis. When was the last time you consulted with customers about papers going up? I think to expect an industry to maintain its prices in unrealistic of you, and it makes you sound illogical when your own business would suffer if that happened over a long period of time.
I think that as this will be the 3rd price rises in 18 years is not really something that can be complained about. We are still relatively low priced, apparently Australia is the 3rd lowest country in the world for postal prices, with the UK and Europe’s pricing being relatively more than $1 for similar services. And look at the services provided here. Privatisation would see profit hungry companies cherry picking the cities and the country locations would not see the quality of service they see now.
Yes, I hear your complaints about selling products that other small businesses like yourself sells, but you never acknowledge the good parts, and the price rise is not unrealistic at all.
Brett – sorry, I mised the day that the govt did anything about Telstra or CBA which have now been privatised, and hasn’t that lowered their prices – NOT!
Have a closer look please, and instead of blindly bashing this price rise, be realistic in that a business that has huge fuel and wages inputs, the costs must increase. It is a basic cycle in the real world. When the papers recently went up I think the average person would think that was fair????
Clem, I have not blindly bashed the price. rise. Rather, I have used this as an opportunity for the governent to reconsider policy around Australia Post’s monopoly services and its competition against indepndent retailers.
mark if it costs 55c to post a letter why does it cost 12c to deliver a paper?
Andy, newsagents have been poorly represented at the negotiating table.
totally off topic but does anyone know what the go is about receiving daffodil pens from GG this year , just down loaded my stickers for monday and there are a hep there for pens and pins and stuff .i have daffodil pens for sale already in my store why would they be sending this stuff that we have to pay for now .?
Clem,
Before you ‘blindly bashed’ everyone you might like to reflect on the fact that CBA and Telstra are now private. They can no longer lean on Govt sponsorship nor can they get preferential deals. They must make it on their own, just like you and I. The Govt ensure that AP gets to play on a different level of the field that we are on and yet they peddle our products. Tat makes it unfair, that makes me upset.
http://www.news.com.au/business/money/story/0,28323,25832369-5017313,00.html
Maybe they should get the rise, cause if they start to lose money, they probably will undertake to sell papers and magazines !!!!
I don’t get how they’re losing money when they had a $140M profit last year – If that’s the reason for the price increase.
AP have really pulled their sox up this week.
The publication we usually get by the time it’s off sale arrived only two days late yesterday.
I’d pay the extra for that kind of service… 😛
I have a series of blog posts on Australia Post going back over the last five years. Click on the Australia Post link on the right side of this blog. I started complaining about the organisation. But following discussions with several senior Howard Government ministers it became clear to me that this was a policy issue for government.
“The Government ought to thoroughly review the operations of Australia Post, from a policy perspective”.
/agree.
The 5c rise however is a non-issue.