The Government is proposing changing the deed of understanding it has with NZ Post to only require post to be delivered a minimum two days a week in urban areas and three days a week in rural areas.
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment said the deed was last reviewed in 2013. It had been scheduled for review in 2018 but that was extended to 2024.
The ministry said, since the last review, New Zealand's digital connectivity had significantly improved. In 2002, about a billion mail items went through NZ Post in a year. In the last financial year, that was 187 million and it is expected to drop to 107 million by 2028.
The ministry is currently seeking submissions as part of a consultation process.
"The proposed changes ...are intended to allow NZ Post sufficient flexibility to achieve commercial sustainability while still responding to New Zealanders' ongoing need for mail.
"Given ongoing decline in the use of the mail service and the years since the last deed review, it is time to consider whether changes should be made to the deed to reflect New Zealanders' declining use of the mail network. Changes also need to be considered to allow the mail service to continue in a commercially sustainable way."
At present NZ Post is required to deliver mail three days a week in urban areas and a minimum of five days a week in rural areas.
The ministry said the changes to the deed would not automatically mean a reduction in service because NZ Post would still be able to make operational decisions.
Other countries had undertaken similar reviews and reduced obligations, it said. Denmark no longer has a national postal provider.
MBIE said NZ Post had stopped delivering on Saturdays in June and had not delivered on Saturday in rural areas for eight years.
Reduction in outlets also proposed
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The proposal would also reduce the obligation to have at least 880 "points of presence" for NZ Post, of which are 240 manned outlets, to 500 initially with a possible step down to 400 over time.
MBIE said most of the current 880 service counters were inside other retail shops.
The reduced requirement would reflect the cost to NZ Post of maintaining a network of postal outlets - "we understand it currently overserves certain urban areas to reach this requirement".
The 880 minimum has not been changed since it was set in 1989.
"NZ Post has said that any change, if made as a result of a new minimum number, will not disproportionately impact rural areas compared to urban areas.
"We note rural customers can also access mail services directly from the rural delivery driver in their area. Changes would also not be implemented immediately following deed changes or without appropriate notice"
Earlier this year, NZ Post confirmed plans to have parcels and mail delivered by the same person, rather than a separate postie and courier driver, as part of wider changes that would reduce staffing by 750 roles over five years.
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Dry cleaners mt Roskill
Hello our fellow neighbors I was hoping someone would know where the old dry cleaners we had up at the lights on dominion road have moved to?? I was out of town and when I came back they were gone .... I had some items that I would really love to get back but if only I new where they moved to or how to get In Touch with the owners to see what they did with our clothes if they closed down or moved elsewhere? Any updates or news about it would be amazing neighbors. Have a great day
Poll: As a customer, what do you think about automation?
The Press investigates the growing reliance on your unpaid labour.
Automation (or the “unpaid shift”) is often described as efficient ... but it tends to benefit employers more than consumers.
We want to know: What do you think about automation?
Are you for, or against?
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9.4% For. Self-service is less frustrating and convenient.
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43.5% I want to be able to choose.
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47.1% Against. I want to deal with people.
Even Australians get it - so why not Kiwis???
“Ten years ago, if a heatwave as intense as last week’s record-breaker had hit the east coast, Australia’s power supply may well have buckled. But this time, the system largely operated as we needed, despite some outages.
On Australia’s main grid last quarter, renewables and energy storage contributed more than 50% of supplied electricity for the first time, while wholesale power prices were more than 40% lower than a year earlier.
[…] shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.
Last quarter, wind generation was up almost 30%, grid solar 15% and grid-scale batteries almost tripled their output. Gas generation fell 27% to its lowest level for a quarter century, while coal fell 4.6% to its lowest quarterly level ever.
Gas has long been the most expensive way to produce power. Gas peaking plants tend to fire up only when supply struggles to meet demand and power prices soar. Less demand for gas has flowed through to lower wholesale prices.”
Full article: www.theguardian.com...
If even Australians see the benefit of solar - then why is NZ actively boycotting solar uptake? The increased line rental for electricity was done to make solar less competitive and prevent cost per kWh to rise even more than it did - and electricity costs are expected to rise even more. Especially as National favours gas - which is the most expensive form of generating electricity. Which in turn will accelerate Climate Change, as if New Zealand didn’t have enough problems with droughts, floods, slips, etc. already.
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