Call for ‘scrutiny’ of Post Office services

Press, 3 July 1985, Page 26

Call for ‘scrutiny’ of Post Office services

The efficiency of several Post Office services needs to be put to the test, accord-' ing to the Opposition spokesman on the Post Office, Mr Roger Maxwell. He intends to recommend to his caucus that some services be “scrutinised” since the Post Office retains a monopoly over them, and there is no other way of knowing if the claims of service efficientcy are correct. “The best possible scrutiny is to allow other people, who think they can offer a better service, the chance to start up,” Mr Maxwell said. “If the Post Office is as efficient as it claims, the challenge of competition will be the final arbiter of that. New Zealanders should not give the Post Office an absolute monopoly in so

many areas. “If we do that, all we have is a Post Office assurance that they are more efficient than any prospective competitor,” Mr Maxwell said. The Post Office should continue its virtual monopoly in the area of telecommunications, he said. “Where the Post Office is introducing new services which are not essential, such as the mobile telephone service, we should encourage maximum private involvement. New Zealand business has already shown its capabilities in these areas of a new technology,” Mr Maxwell said. “While the Post Office still answers to the Post-master-General, it is obviously a good vehicle or social instrument to ensure cross-subsidisation of

charges in the interests ot the whole country. But where there are services well provided for by other sectors there is less need for this.” In particular, the existence of other banks meant that Post Office cross-sub-sidising in the banking area was less necessary, he said. “One example of an unnecessary cross-subsidy is that provided by the Post Office savings scheme with school children. I understand that no other bank makes a similar scheme available to the children, who receive an interest of only about 11 per cent per annum,” Mr Maxwell said. “So, these young people are subsidising relatively low-interest Post Office loans to other groups. We should be encouraging our

young people to save by giving them a better interest, and I will recommend this to my caucus.” The Post Office was taking advantage of the traditional school savings system supported by about 400,000 pupils and earning about $2O million a year, he said. “The Government’s economic policies generating high interest rates and inflation, are making the Post Office housing loans less helpful to the public. The maximum housing loan of $60,000 attracts a higher interest and is in itself too large a sum of money for a single income family to handle,” Mr Maxwell said. It was clear that without extra government assistance, home ownership was being pushed out of reach of the average family.