Do we still need a regular postal service?
A proposal to cut deliveries and physical outlets has some worried about those who will be left behind.
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, October 30.
In today’s edition: Cautious support from Labour for the government’s new building reforms, new research finds a high level of mental health conditions in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch mosque attack, and TVNZ plans to retain a scaled down version of the 1News website. But first, are the days of sending letters drawing to a close?
The dying days of the post
When was the last time you got a letter? Scratch that, when was the last time you got a letter you actually wanted? The days of the postal service have been numbered for some time, and now NZ Post is considering taking a sizeable knife to the network in the not-to-distant future. As reported by RNZ’s Susan Edmonds, the proposal by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) would see the “deed of understanding” with NZ Post adjusted for the first time in 11 years. It could mean NZ Post will only be required to deliver to urban areas a minimum of twice a week and rural areas three times a week, though NZ Post would still be able to make operational decisions.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan, MBIE’s James Hartley said that in urban areas, the average post box gets about two letters a week and overall use had declined dramatically in recent years. “Only about 1% of letters are sent by individuals [as opposed to businesses or government services],” said Hartley. “In 2002, one billion letters went through the postal system. It’s now down to about 180 million.”
Consultation is open until December 10.
Who could be left behind?
Hartley, in his interview on Newstalk ZB, acknowledged there would be concern and said that “anecdotally” some communities, especially in rural areas and among the elderly, still rely on the mail service. Under the proposal, the number of “points of presence” for NZ Post would drop from 880 down to 500, with a possible further step down to 400 over time.
Marie Fitzpatrick of the Rural Women New Zealand group told Farmers Weekly that the proposal would impact isolated communities and NZ Post was making an assumption people would be able to drive to find services. “The proposal is silent on any detail, it does not give any indication on where those cuts will happen,” she said. The group would be preparing a submission to counter the move, adding that it wants an assurance NZ Post will adhere to the social responsibility principles as a state-owned enterprise.
In an excellent feature for The Spinoff published earlier this year, Rachel Judkins reported on the varied ways in which rural livers rely on the postal service. It’s not just for letters, said farmer Mairi Whittle, but for papers, parcels and pantry items. “Mondays and Thursdays I get bread and milk in the mail,” she explained. “It’s just so handy. You can kind of get by if you’ve got bread and milk.”
Money, money, money
As noted above, NZ Post is a state-owned enterprise. That means that, while owned by the government, it is not funded by the government and ultimately acts to turn a profit. In September, reported Jem Traylen at BusinessDesk (paywalled), NZ Post made a loss of $14m for the 2024 financial year which the company described as “fully” in line with expectations and was an improvement of $42m on the previous year. It was confident it could return to profitability in the next 12 months. “The year also saw an increase of $126m in our enterprise valuation,” said NZ Post at the time. “We were pleased to return a $100m dividend to the government as shareholder in May 2024, and expect to pay further dividends to the shareholder as the company returns to consistent profitability.”
With the decline in mail volume, the company is aiming to turn the business around through investment in new processing facilities and the acquisition of competing brands. But, with less mail, there has also had to be price increases and redundancies to keep the lights on.
Keeping with the times
As MBIE’s James Hartley mentioned, very few letters these days actually come from individuals senders. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I only ever get a “letter” when it’s my birthday (and often it comes several days late, anyway). Liam van Eeden, writing for Re:News in March, looked at this exact issue in a piece quite simply titled: “why tf do important documents only get sent through the post?”. He went on to ask why some of the mail we do still receive can’t just be sent via email. Auckland University IT lecturer Farkhondeh Hassandoust told Re:News that while having an email alternative is helpful, for some people, the postal service remained crucial. “It's very important to keep in mind that older people may not have access to proper digital tools, and prefer postal mail.”
The same issue has been raised in recent years around banking, with many smaller communities losing access to physical outlets in favour of online services. Age Concern told RNZ in February that while the closure of bank outlets was inevitable, people needed to time to understand the digital shift. The Reserve Bank said in May it would help make cash more accessible for isolated communities and iwi, reported Te Ao Māori News, while the country’s five largest banks confirmed they would extend a commitment not to close regional branches for the next three years.
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Can we avoid another leaky homes crisis?
We talked about it briefly yesterday, but the government has since confirmed it plans to streamline the building consent regimes and introduce a self-certification scheme. Construction minister Chris Penk said it would help bring costs down for builders and allow for projects to be completed quicker. It’s been largely welcomed by those in the sector, but some have raised concern it could lead to another leaky homes crisis.
Labour’s Kieran McAnulty, reported RNZ’s Anneke Smith, said the party would cautiously back the government’s proposal. "The leaky building saga cost the country, and cost homeowners, $11 billion and I think the concerns that have been raised by many stakeholders urging caution and urging the minister to be careful here are warranted,” he said. A 1News investigation earlier in the year revealed that leaky homes are still costing councils tens of millions of dollars every year.
Writing for The Post, Luke Malpass said the leaky homes crisis had cast a “long shadow” over building regulations. However, he noted that the proposed reforms are not about changing building standards or the building code, “one of the key areas that failed badly in the leaky homes era”.
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Home Education episode four: Alesha & Kensey
Episode four of Home Education introduces Kensey, who started slipping behind at school after repeated illness. Her mum Alesha remembers Kensey turning five and going to her first day of school as a huge milestone, but rather than let her fall behind, she dug deep and decided to do something out of their comfort zone. At the time however, all they knew of home schooling was what they had seen on Country Calendar. Now Kensey learns online and meets regularly with her local homeschool community. Their home education journey is just beginning: “we’ve just taken our jandal off at the edge of the river.”
Made with the support of NZ On Air.
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Click and Collect
New research out this morning found a high level of mental health conditions in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch mosque attack. 60% of the 189 participants in the study had a mental health condition such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, and of those, more than 76% had more than one condition.
The number of students missing one in ten days of school has doubled in the past decade and the system for getting them back to their lessons is ineffective and failing, says the Education Review Office.
On The Spinoff this morning, Eda Tang asks whether autistic Asians are slipping through the cracks.
Tania Kura has been appointed interim police commissioner. Meanwhile, in a paywalled report for the Herald, Jared Savage reveals Jevon McSkimming and Richard Chambers are in the running to permanently take up the post.
TVNZ has revealed it wants to retain a "reduced" version of the 1News website.
Dunedin Airport has embraced the international attention on its “three-minute hugs” rule.
Join us for a one-night only live event
We’re huge fans of local television here at The Spinoff, and for one night only we want to celebrate some of our all-time faves. Join Alex Casey, Kura Forrester, Rhiannon McCall, Stewart Sowman-Lund and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith at Q Theatre this Thursday night (!!) as we unearth some beloved TV gems and argue for their place in our history.
Toby Manhire shares the three-word guide to social media use for politicians. Ahead of the new season of Love Island Australia, host Sophie Monk reflects on two decades of reality television memories with Alex Casey. Madeleine Chapman explains why she hates the “sexy Grimace bus”. Shanti Mathias visits Christchurch institution Creative Junk, where cardboard tubes and curtains can find new lives as artwork made by kids and adults alike. For the latest in our cost of being series: a part-time gardener, full-time dad to a toddler.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. See you back here tomorrow morning.
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