P.O. profit ploughed back in services

Press, 29 December 1981, Page 2

P.O. profit ploughed back in services

PA Wellington The Postmaster-General (Mr Falloon) has defended the latest Post Office price increases, saying that every dollar of profit is reinvested in better services. Mr Falloon said he was becoming tired of comments by uninformed critics who implied that the increases were a means of producing more revenue for the Government or were some form of taxation. “I thought I had already made it clear that every dollar of profit is reinvested in better Post Office services to the community,” he said. “It is not used by the Government for other purposes and it is irresponsible for Opposition spokesmen and others to keep on suggesting otherwise.” The Post Office capital works programme was $136 million this year which

would go into projects that must be undertaken if the public were to get the best possible service and to keep pace with changing demands. Building and land purchases of $24 million were included in the 1981-82 capital investment programme, said Mr Falloon. Some examples were: © The new Chief Post Office at Nelson and continuing construction work associated with the new Wellington Chief Post Office (about $2.8 million). © New post offices for Levin, St Heliers, Te Aroha, and additions to post offices at Armagh, Birkenhead, Waitara, and Otahuhu ($2 million). ® Provision of C.N.G. fueling facilities ($1 million). Outdated manual exchanges were being replaced with modern automatic exchanges at a number of

centres including Katikati, Matata, and Porangahau and new automatic exchanges at places such as Hibiscus Coast, Te Anau, and Wanaka. Those projects totalled almost $BO million of investment, said Mr Falloon. Major new toll facilities would be completed during the year. They included microwave radio systems in Southland and Westland, and major increases on the main trunk route between Hamilton and Palmerston North. There was a continuing programme to provide extra telephone and data circuits at many transmission stations. These changes would total about $6.5 million. A further $ll million would be spent on customer facilities. The balance of the investment would go on essential items such as motor-vehicles, computer equipment, office machines, and the like, said Mr Falloon.