VANA and the ANF have invited newsagents to send feedback on the News Limited newspaper distribution and retail contracts so that they may collate this feedback and forward it to the ACCC.
The time for active association engagement was two years ago, a year ago, hell even six months ago. The associations should have funded a professional study covering newspaper home delivery and distribution best practice as well as assessing the future viability of newspaper home delivery. Professional research from a world perspective could have seen the associations develop a proposal for News on the front foot rather than being left to react now.
Maybe I am missing something but I am unsure as to what is in the contracts which would concern the ACCC. I would be more interested in a Government funded inquiry from the perspective of a deregulation policy review – no such review has been undertaken since the government instituted deregulation of the late 1990s.
Better late than never.
Mark,
I believe you are right on two issues.
1. What’s the ACCC got to do with it and 2. A complete review of the deregulative process is long overdue especially if one can compare with Aust Post.
Howver it is not so tha Associations have not prepared cost effective studies on home delivery and presented them to te publishers. One such exercise cost $60k.
Nope, I think Nana has fought the fight but it’s not the fight that they are going to win.
There is only one thing with the new contracts and that there is no money in it . If news wants more agents to give up their run,they are going about this to get to that point. I think this is what it is all about,less drops more saving for news ltd.When they have the contracts in, they will have the home del people paying to them and not in your shop.What this will do it will make agents who are thinking of stopping their home del now give it away.Pay crap you get crap.The only way to get more money is for agents to take a stand.Some years a go you used to see a nice big pile of paper in the store for all to see now you have to look to find them.Check out the sales of paper in Qld ,$1.00 per day numbers down. west aust $1.50 Sales are up .My point is if you charge a low price that is how people see it ,if you put a fair value on it that is how people see your paper
There was a newspaper discussion paper circulated by the ANF 2 years ago. The publishers were willing to engage on the issues and have dialogue before putting together the contracts. Nothing happened with the momentum that was created or the work that was done back then. The ANF Board and the organization have dropped the ball and let it go and once again left publishers to decide what the newsagent channel deserves. The ANF has plent of information, plenty of studies. The organization is a failure to its members. 2 years ago there were some signs of good things..now its fallen back into a vacuum. The ANF Board has a lot to answer for.