Mail: THE Medium
Address to the Major Mail Users of Australia Annual Convention

Sydney , 11 August 2004

The Australian Government and the Major Mail Users of Australia have a long history of collaboration and cooperation and I am delighted to be here this morning to open the MMUA's annual convention.

Each year, the convention brings stakeholders together under the Major Mail Users banner, to spend a few days together working through the issues of the day and to ponder what lies ahead.

Since taking up my new position as Communications Minister, I have been surprised at just how profound the changes have been to post and telecommunications in recent years.

The theme of this year's convention - that mail is THE medium - holds very true. Despite the fact we are increasingly communicating via electronic means, there is nothing quite like receiving a letter.

Shana Alexander, journalist with Life magazine for 18 years, probably put it best when she said 'Letters are expectation packaged in an envelope"

The postal sector has seen a great deal of change over the past few years. Increasingly, consumers are being seduced by the instant gratification offered by instant messaging technology.

Traditional forms of communication such as the post are facing the challenge of adapting to an ever-changing marketplace.

This raises a range a range of postal sector specific issues and Australian Government policies are being shaped to reflect the changing needs of the industry.

Social and commercial objectives

The Government's postal policies will continue to strike a balance between social and commercial objectives.

The Government's position remains that these objectives are not inconsistent with each other.

In fact, only through policies that encourage a dynamic and vigorous commercial approach can we achieve and fund the social objectives.

Commercial imperatives help to make Australia Post a more efficient organisation that is also better able to meet social objectives. The operations of Australia Post are self funded and at the same time it is able to provide a service which is continually improving and which is envy of many countries.

This applies not only to the Government's role as the sole shareholder of Australia Post, but also in our approach and consideration of regulatory issues that affect the entire postal industry.

Australia Post

The Government remains committed to maintaining Australia Post in full public ownership.

There is no intention to change the regulatory settings. In practical terms this means that important consumer provisions such as the Reserved Service and Community Service Obligations will continue to underpin Australia's postal regime.

This approach is not inconsistent with our strong commitment to encouraging the non-Australia Post sector of the industry to grow, innovate and provide better services.

Competition drives better performance, lowers costs and improves outcomes for consumers. There is no doubt that this is good for consumers and good for business.

However, as you would be aware, not all of the services provided by Australia Post are its exclusive domain. A key issue for Government is ensuring that a suitable balance is maintained in the interests of consumers, business and the Australian people.

This balance ensures that Australia Post is able to generate sufficient revenue to help provide a service which meets community expectations of reliability and quality, and at the same time allows Australia Post to grow its business in non-reserved areas to ensure it remains relevant and viable in the rapidly changing postal environment.

Government Policy Achievements

The Government is committed to providing a regulatory framework that allows residential consumers, small business and rural and regional Australia to receive the best possible postal services, while promoting a vibrant postal industry sector.

The Government has put in place a range of measures including:

• extending the successful Rural Transaction Centre Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) initiative, by making this technology available in many additional postal outlets in regional Australia;
  
• ensuring that Australia Post delivers health and educational material being sent to and from people living in remote areas of Australia at cheaper postal rates; and
  
• working with Australia Post to establish dedicated Small Business Units in each State and Territory. These units provide advice and assistance to small business operators and act as the first point of contact in relation to disputes.

Postal Industry Ombudsman

Some of you would also be aware that the Government has given an undertaking to establish a Postal Industry Ombudsman (PIO).

The PIO will provide consumers with a dedicated, independent entity to investigate complaints relating to Australia Post and other industry operators who 'opt in' to the scheme.

The dedicated PIO will be set up within the respected and independent Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman already has considerable expertise in investigating complaints about Australia Post's services. Utilising and building on this existing expertise will provide an effective way of protecting the rights of consumers.

There has been extensive consultation with industry, the public and stakeholders on the PIO and while it has taken some time, we are confident that we now have the right formula.

The Government plans to finalise the legislation to establish the PIO shortly and will introduce the legislation during the current Parliamentary sittings.

Future

But none of us can stand still - not the industry, not Australia Post and not the Government.

Kenneth H. Olsen, President of DEC, one of the world's largest computer companies during the 70s, said in 1977 'There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home"

Those words surely haunt him.

This is another example of why the postal sector must remain vigilant.

Declining letter volumes related to electronic transfers and information flows is a challenge that you are all aware of. Innovative products and processes, some of which are on display in the room next door, are part of the response to this challenge.

Role of the Government

But what can Government do?

Firstly, we will maintain our commitment to a competitive environment.

Parliament recently passed postal reform legislation - the Postal Services Legislation Amendment Act 2004 - to provide consumer and social benefits by expanding the role of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) in overseeing Australia Post's activities and by clarifying a number of existing practices within the postal services market.

These reforms will allow small businesses and consumers to benefit from better quality, more flexible postal services.

They will also provide certainty for small businesses and consumers who use aggregation services to gain access to Australia Post's bulk mail discounts and for the many small businesses that use document exchanges as a complementary service to Australia Post.

The Government will also continue to press Australia Post to be a good service provider - not only in relation to consumers, but also to those postal operators that link into the Australia Post network.

Indeed we expect Australia Post to engage with other sectors in the industry on a fully commercial and transparent basis.

As I noted earlier, a key part of the recent postal reform legislation is the enhanced role of the ACCC. There are two parts to this enhanced role.

The first is to extend the powers of the ACCC to inquire into disputes about any of the terms and conditions of a bulk interconnection service, and not just the discounted rate, as was the case before the Bill was passed.

These amendments will enable customers to dispute any of these terms and conditions if they believe they are unfair or unreasonable, such as requiring that the letters be lodged at an unreasonable time.

The other key provision in the reform legislation is to provide the ACCC with the power to require Australia Post to keep and retain detailed auditing and accounting information - 'record keeping rules", so to speak.

This will ensure independent oversight of Australia Post's accounting of reserved and non-reserved services, and provide an opportunity for the ACCC to identify any possible cross subsidisation issues.

The record keeping rules also tie back into the other reforms, as they will assist the ACCC in arbitrating disputes about the terms and conditions of bulk interconnection services.

It is important that the entire postal sector is aware of these new powers and uses the powers where they think Australia Post has infringed on their requirement for a commercial exchange.

The Government is also making sure consumers maintain a strong voice in the industry. I have already mentioned the establishment of the PIO - but in addition I can also assure you that there will be no reduction in the current community service obligations and we will continue to apply rigorous performance standards.

While the measures I have spoken about relate primarily to Australia Post, they do have implications for other postal operators.

Far from seeing the Government's role as a consumer advocate as an intrusion, I would hope the industry considers it a "natural alignment of interests".

Future directions

Government policy will continue to ensure Australian consumers and businesses enjoy a low cost and high performance postal service over a national postal network.

We will continue to focus on postal policies that benefit residential and small business operators. At the same time we will make sure that Australians in rural and regional areas continue to receive the best possible service.

And we will not forget the postal industry itself. This is a vital industry providing tens of thousands of jobs, and an annual turnover of many billions of dollars. It is a vital element of the Australian economy and a fundamental part of our social infrastructure.

Conclusion

The next time we wander to the letterbox with that feeling of anticipation we should all take the time to marvel at the wonderful systems we have in place.

Whether it is a birthday card that reminds us that we are another year older, a Christmas card or parcel from a loved one far away; there is still nothing quite like getting mail.

Thank you.