Level the Field

FIGHTING HUGE GOVERNMENT ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
The letter that follows was sent to the government for comment. We (newsagents) have been unable to get any meaningful response about this urgent and critical matter over many months. Now it is time to consider some more moves to precipitate action from reluctant politicians. Our small family business has 18 families who make a living working in the business. These people plus their friends and relatives will make a pretty powerful voting bloc. Now multiply this by nine Tamworth newsagents plus their friends and families, and we are starting to get there. Throw in our subagents and their connections and the numbers continue to grow. NOW SPREAD THIS ANGER AND ONE-MINDEDNESS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. Politicians, this may be your last call because we are sick of such an unfair system that you refuse to recognise. Genuine small local family businesses expect your support and not your bias towards corporations and government entry in commercial areas outside your own regulations.
Maxine and Peter

(Picture of catalogue not included here)
Australia Post is our drought
This is the new brochure from Australia Post and what a brochure it is. Hang on, am I mistaken? This looks like a newsagency brochure. Street directories, copy paper, calendars, ink, toner, files, folders, batteries, calculators, fax rolls, shredders. Gee my head tells me these are newsagency lines. Where are the stamps? Where are the other postal related products? Oh, that's right, the Government owned Post Shops (the 865 Government stores) have the right to do things which are "incidental" to providing postal services. Silly me.
Here is part of what I have written to the Minister responsible today - Senator Helen Coonan:
Enclosed is a copy of the Celebrate the Savings brochure from Australia Post for your information. This brochure demonstrates further abuse of the Act. Every page of the eight page brochure presents products which used to be the domain of newsagents. Having my own Government competing with me in this way is offensive.
I would like the Government, as the owner of Australia Post, to explain to me how they can claim that the sale of the items listed below is incidental to supplying postal services:
UBD street directory … Reflex copy paper … Printer ink … Printer toner … Calendars … Post brand calculators (made in China) … USB sticks … Laminator … Shredder … Post branded stationery (made in China) … Post brand blank CDs (made in China) … Post branded CD-R (made in China) … Diaries …Fax rolls.
Government ownership and regulation makes Australia Post stores destination stores. My newsagency does not have this monopoly advantage. Australia Post is abusing this advantage to encroach more and more into space previously the domain of newsagencies, some supermarkets and stationery stores.
I cannot land consumers to my store for the same low cost of Australia Post.
I cannot leverage a national brand like Australia Post to buy competitively.
I cannot control my opening and closing hours.
I cannot get the rent discount of an "essential service".
I do not have a government protected postal service brand with which to leverage the sale of unrelated items.
When farmers talk of the impact of droughts the government steps in with assistance. When auto makers talk of the impact of cheap imports the government steps in and helps. When newsagents talk of the impact of Australia Post the government ignores us.
Australia Post is our drought. For many years now it has been draining newsagencies of revenue. Many are close to death.
How many newsagencies need to close as a result of Australia Post competition before we see action?
I call upon you to demonstrate your commitment to small business by supporting an inquiry into the impact on independent small business of government owned Australia Post retail outlets.
I know from past correspondence from the Government that a likely response will be that the majority of outlets are privately owned. I am not as concerned about these outlets. It is the government owned outlets which are doing the damage small businesses like my newsagency.
Jobs are being lost in newsagencies because of the actions of Australia Post. Does anyone care?
***The original message is from a blog by Mark Fletcher MD of Tower Systems International whose company runs a newsagency in Melbourne and writes and provides specialist computer equipment and programmes Australia wide. It is located at the following address –
http://www.towersystems.com.au/fhn_blog/archives/2006/09/australia_post_23.html