Gain and service twin goals of Post Office

Press, 2 July 1985, Page 15

Gain and service twin goals of Post Office

The twin goals of commercial gain and serving New Zealanders’ interests have provided the basis for increasing Post Office charges from the beginning of this month, according to the Christchurch District Chief Postmaster, Mr Syd Bradley. “In particular, the higher prices of imported fuel and technology have had to be borne by us. For the last two financial years our tax payments were based on the best estimate of what payments would have been due under the Income Tax Act. “At the end of this financial year the Post Office begins to pay taxes under that act and we began to pay dividends to the Government in the 1983-84 financial year like any other business,” said Mr Bradley.

“Some of this revenue paid to the Government will of course help reduce the country’s deficit. But all these extra costs to the Post Office mean they have to be met in some way.” On top of the rising costs the Post Office also had to plan for future growth that would not only yield profits but also provide up-to-date communications, Mr Bradley said.

“People are using our services more and more. If the Post Office is to meet their needs substantial amounts of capital investment are required over the next few years.

“This capital must represent profitable investment and has to be financed partly from Post Office profits and partly from Government loans, which attract interest. We need to strike a reasonable balance between funding from income and from borrowing, which inevitably means an increase in charges.” “The unpalatable alternative to our capital investment is to reduce this programme and allow services to become run down. This, of course, would not be acceptable either to the Post Office as a business or to our customers,” said Mr Bradley. “I believe the Post Office

charges have been increased in a reasonable way. They allow the Post Office to continue with profitable services and provide for future neeeds.” Telecommunications The Post Office planned a 45 per cent increase over last year in telecommunications investment this year, Mr Bradley said. “Customers are using our telecommunication services at record levels and these levels are rising beyond all predictions. The Post Office is doing its best to cope

with this expansion and acknowledges that there are delays. “In spite of our large development programme last year some circuits are still overloaded, causing inconvenience to customers. Enhancement to circuit provision has meant an investment of $lOO million. Like other telecommunication administrations in other countries the Post Office had its difficulties in buying telecom equipment because of world demand, Mr Bradley said.

“We will continue to invest and ensure that the public can talk to anyone anywhere in the world quickly and clearly. The Post Office is also going to provide a new range of modern telephones.

“In the business field we have used new technology extensively such as electronic PABXs, telepaging and bureaufaxing services. We are working on a mobile telephone design for a briefcase or in a car.”

Videotex developments and electronic funds transfer systems were becoming increasingly import-

ant services, Mr Bradley said. Savings Bank Interest rates on all the Post Office acounts were increased last year, Mr Bradley said. “Over the last year our banking business has been extremely buoyant. This has been achieved by making the Post Office Savings Bank more competitive and by introducing new products and services. “We had a record Bankcard turnover and more than double the number of 24-hour ‘Anytime’

machines over the previous year. The number of approved loans in the last financial year was 1000, worth about $27 million, and since then we have already provided 300 loans worth about $9 million.” The Christchurch district aimed to modernise its banking facilities and enhance the growth of products in the district post offices, Mr Bradley said. “Our aim is to help people of all ages to save and key and home ownership accounts are two of our more significant products for this. In the schools we help teach children to save and we make grants to the schools each year. “Direct crediting also has a high profile, assisting the elderly and the community in general to budget and obtain fast money transactions.” Agency services The Post Office acted as an agency for other Government bodies such as the Ministry of Works and Development, the Treasury and the Accident Compensation Corporation, Mr Bradley said.

“Charges for this service are based on negotiation between each department and the Post Office. The Ministry of Transport, for example, checks each year to see if any other body can more cheaply provide our agency service with vehicle registration and ownership. "We aim to cover our costs with this service and earn enough profit for further capital investment. Our main investments in this area are staff wages and some property requirements.” The charge to each department for the agency service was confidential, Mr Bradley said. “It is not public information, for business reasons.” Electoral rolls The maintenance and production of electoral rolls by the Post Office was paid for by the Justice Department in a similar way to the agency service, Mr Bradley said. “Our charge to the Justice Department is in line with the general rating philosophy of the Post Office.” “The Post Office does not claim to be perfect but has a dedicated staff who will continue to try and give New Zealanders value for money.”

Post Office rates increased from July 1 and the move has raised some eyebrows among the public in the light of record profits over the last eight years. This is the second of a series of articles by Tessa Ward which outline Post Office policy, the proposed increase in rates, and planned investments in the central South Island region over the next few years.