Privatise Australia Post?

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Bribie G

Adjunct Professor
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I've put this in the Pub thread as postage and courier services are dear to the hearts of many home brewers.

Looks like privatisation is on the cards. I for one (coming from the UK originally) have always been puzzled by the ridiculous stranglehold and limited opening hours of Australian Post Offices, both Official and Franchised ones. Why the Hell can't I buy a 3k Satchel on Saturday Afternoon or a stamped envelope on a Sunday? Why do I have to stand in a line of thirty people snaking out of the door down the street (as was usually the case on Bribie Island)?

In most sensible logical businesses if you regularly get massive queues then .... hey.... our services are in demand, let's put on another staff member and look for a better storefront to lease and make some profits. This seemingly sensible approach seems to have totally escaped AusPost who can't see it as a problem that I have to wait up to twenty minutes in a germy queue while some bag peers over the counter at me like I've just crawled out from under a rock.

Bring it on.
 
I have had one parcel go missing in 10 years, I say, not a bad service.
Longest wait is about 5 mins and that's very occasionally.
Ever posted stuff from India ?
Nev
 
Indian post is nationalised. What says that about what...

Australia should be able to do a good privatised postal service. Just make sure you don't let the bureaucrats go over into corporate management or it'd be doomed with the same attitudes.
 
Just saying If you think Aussie post sucks you should really see a postal system that is BAD, then you may think yourself lucky.
Business by India post would be impossible.
 
I have found Australia Post to generally be pretty good. My last 3 packages have all been a drama though. I have a package tracking app on my phone and I received a message to say that a package had tried to be delivered but there was no one home. Not only was I home the entire day but there was no slip left in my letterbox. I then contacted the local post office to ask what was going on and if my package was there. It was not on that day. The next day it was. I then received a slip for the same package in my letterbox 2 days later. This has now bizarrely happened 3 times. The post office said that there have been changes to the way that packages are now processed and delivered directly through delivery centres.

That being said, when I was in the states a couple of years ago, it took an hour to fill out all the paperwork that was required to send a package back home.
 
Bribie G said:
I've put this in the Pub thread as postage and courier services are dear to the hearts of many home brewers.

Looks like privatisation is on the cards. I for one (coming from the UK originally) have always been puzzled by the ridiculous stranglehold and limited opening hours of Australian Post Offices, both Official and Franchised ones. Why the Hell can't I buy a 3k Satchel on Saturday Afternoon or a stamped envelope on a Sunday? Why do I have to stand in a line of thirty people snaking out of the door down the street (as was usually the case on Bribie Island)?

In most sensible logical businesses if you regularly get massive queues then .... hey.... our services are in demand, let's put on another staff member and look for a better storefront to lease and make some profits. This seemingly sensible approach seems to have totally escaped AusPost who can't see it as a problem that I have to wait up to twenty minutes in a germy queue while some bag peers over the counter at me like I've just crawled out from under a rock.

Bring it on.
Click to expand...
is there any reason it needs to be privatised to be open on a weekend? i've never understood this about any government agency really though i'm sure there is some old historical reason that hasn't been changed. what is the 'not open on weekends' thing all about? i realise some are open for a small time on saturday but what's the big deal with extending business day hours so that many people working 9-5 can go without racing there on their lunch hour in a 4000+ people line; and/or extending it to 7 days a week?
 
The same bloody reason restaurants in sleepy towns (even brissy) don't open for either brekky or lunch at all. Provincial.
 
It seems a bit of a weird arrangement that they make in the hundreds of millions of $ profit, I'm not sure their job is to make big profits, maybe some of those profits could be directed to opening hour extensions or postie wet weather gear that is actually waterproof unlike the current offering..... They were generous this year though, all the staff got a box of 100 stamps for a christmas bonus....
 
That's a LOT of letter writing for the kids. Think of all the aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, great aunts, great uncles that'd be pleased to receive a proper letter from the kids. And the millions in inheritance you are sticking your foot in the door for :p the kids might even improve their letter writing skills hey.

Tonguefirmlyincheek
 
I believe they were all very tempted to send the CEO 100 letters each with them.
 
I find Australia Post quite good, our little post office is only open 8.00am-11.00am but I can work around that.
 
God I hope this doesn't happen. Privatization always results in higher costs for the end user with worse service, as it must make a profit so it's investors can get a return on their investment.
Ask any Victorian about how well the power industry is going since the sell off of the S.E.C.
 
lukiferj said:
I have found Australia Post to generally be pretty good. My last 3 packages have all been a drama though. I have a package tracking app on my phone and I received a message to say that a package had tried to be delivered but there was no one home. Not only was I home the entire day but there was no slip left in my letterbox. I then contacted the local post office to ask what was going on and if my package was there. It was not on that day. The next day it was. I then received a slip for the same package in my letterbox 2 days later. This has now bizarrely happened 3 times. The post office said that there have been changes to the way that packages are now processed and delivered directly through delivery centres.

That being said, when I was in the states a couple of years ago, it took an hour to fill out all the paperwork that was required to send a package back home.
Click to expand...
I've had some similar problems, it's because they subcontract out the delivery.

Just a taste of what it'll be like once they privatise it.
 
Our local post office, which is also a news agent, family run has been great. Being open 7 days a week means i can pick packages up on the weekend, as generally i cant get there during Mon to Friday hours. How ever the family recently sold it to a different family who also operate a local dry cleaners. Apparently they no longer have room to store many packages (the previous owners had no problem with this) and i have had to drive 25 minutes to the aus post distribution center and line up for 20 minutes to collect a package which I paid to have delivered to my door.
 
Some parts of Australia Post are privatised anyway, just to add to the confusion!
 
The queues can be ridiculous - agreed.
 
Bribie G said:
I've put this in the Pub thread as postage and courier services are dear to the hearts of many home brewers.

Looks like privatisation is on the cards. I for one (coming from the UK originally) have always been puzzled by the ridiculous stranglehold and limited opening hours of Australian Post Offices, both Official and Franchised ones. Why the Hell can't I buy a 3k Satchel on Saturday Afternoon or a stamped envelope on a Sunday? Why do I have to stand in a line of thirty people snaking out of the door down the street (as was usually the case on Bribie Island)?

In most sensible logical businesses if you regularly get massive queues then .... hey.... our services are in demand, let's put on another staff member and look for a better storefront to lease and make some profits. This seemingly sensible approach seems to have totally escaped AusPost who can't see it as a problem that I have to wait up to twenty minutes in a germy queue while some bag peers over the counter at me like I've just crawled out from under a rock.

Bring it on.
Click to expand...

Yes, I think a prerequisite for working at a lot of post offices is to pass the misery guts test..........
 
Be interesting to see if any government would be game to privatise Austpost. I doubt it will win them an election.
 
Ducatiboy stu said:
Be interesting to see if any government would be game to privitise Austpost. I doubt it will win them an election.
Click to expand...
Why not? The proceeds of the float will be redirected back into infrastructure (or surplus if your cyclical like me). The aim of government is to services and infrastructure. Australia Post has since the advent of online shopping moved from that to a very profitable company in its own right. It's a very fine line of democratic governments to run businesses in search of profits. That's why we're taxed so much ;)
 

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