On June 7 I wrote to the Communications Minister, Small Business Minister complaining about the increasing competition aimed at newsagents by Government owned Australia Post stores. A copy of the letter can be found here. The Small Business Minister has responded with a brief letter handballing the matter to the Communications Minister and reminding me that Australia Post must act commercially. My complaint was specific and legitimate, drawing attention of the reader to three key clauses in the Act under which Australia Post operates:
I refer to my previous correspondence on the matter of Australia Post operating outside the provisions of Sections 14, 15 and 16 of the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989.
I draw your attention to the June Relax…at Tax time with Australia Post catalogue published by Australia Post and ask the government to consider whether the sale of these items promoted within that catalogue is within the provisions of the ACT
In the letter I list sixteen items I consider fall outside the provisions of the Act.
Government owned retail outlets are taking revenue from small businesses like mine. They have given over 80% of their retail space to carrying stationery and other items which newsagents have sold for more than 140 years. Australia Post has been in this space for ten or so years and they have leveraged their government protected Post brand into excellent retail sales.
Newsagents are losing revenue and the government is not taking any notice. Their ownership of Australia Post and permission of it to compete with newsagents in this way makes a mockery of their small business policy.
The government line that Australia Post needs to operate to ensure its commercial viability really says that the government puts its ownership of these retail businesses ahead of the needs of small business taxpayers.
That they do not even have the guts to discuss and or debate policy with the channel their Australia Post business targets every day demonstrates a profound lack of interest in mum and dad businesses in Australia.