‘Bloated Australia Post’s price increases will lead to more magazine job cuts’
Publishers Australia has upped its attack on Australia Post, warning that “hundreds of jobs” could be at lost because of this week’s rise in magazine delivery prices.
The organisation – which speaks for Australia’s small and medium sized publishers – claims that the reason Australia Post is putting up its prices is because it is inefficient and bloated.
Warning that many businesses are “already on the verge of perishing”, it issued an angry statement from chairman Geoff Hird of Westwick-Farrow Publishing saying:
“In the most challenging economic environment any of us have ever faced, it seems that Australia Post is intent on protecting its bloated and inefficient internal structure, while the rest of us are being forced to tighten our belts and seek improved efficiencies in our business operations.”
Hird said that he and Nick Chan – boss of Pacific Magazines and chairman of Magazine Publishers of Australia which represents the largest mag companies – had had an unsatisfactory meeting with Australia Post. He said:
“They were not interested to entertain our requests, stating the ‘decision has been made’, and adding that Australia Post had cost increases they needed to offset. It’s incredible, given the unique economic environment we find ourselves in, that Australia Post cannot deal with external pressure like the rest of us have to.”
The association said that Australia Post had cited an increase in its transport costs of more than 10% although Australian Bureau of Statistics figures suggest that because fuel costs have gone down, the cost of transport actually dropped in the last 12 months by nearly 5% “underlining the inefficiency of this Government enterprise’s internal operations”.
It added: “The 3.5% to 4.5% real increases that the price hike will affect on magazine publishers will result in hundreds of job losses across the publishing and printing sectors – with MPA and PA members certain to reduce print and post runs.
Hird said: “The harsh reality is that many will be forced to cut staff – as will our print industry partners, in line with dropping print run volumes.”
So far, Australia Post managing director Graeme Johns has not responded to requests from the association for a meeting with him. Mumbrella attempted to contact Australia Post for comment late yesterday afternoon, but the switchboard was closed for the day.
Publishers who print on paper and send their copy by mail are calling another body inefficient and bloated. This makes my day 🙂
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“…the switchboard was closed for the day”
…enough said?
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Aust Post has been a bloated white elephant for years. Australia adoption of any technology that can bypass it has been taken up at a rate of knots. Fax machines were adopted at a rate faster than almost any other country in the world, due soley to the fact that Aust post is USELESS.
Australia Post is raising its prices pure and simply because they can. They are a shameless cartel. The governemtn has to step in and say NO. there is no good reason for them to raise prices.
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Hey Mal – who do you think owns Aust Post?
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Look, print publishers need to get the with the programme and realise that consumers will only increase their preference for digital, offer both. Newsagencies need to get into the 21st century and realise that their current business models will not survive unless they can figure out a way to get a clip of the digital ticket and this means working with digital publishing companies that can give them access to more magazines than they could possibly carry in store, and allow newsagents the rights to offer digital subscriptions. Everybody needs to realise that this “ohhhh, so many jobs are gonna be lost” is one of the most tired and hackneyed PR responses to price increases. IF the industry realises that digital publishing uses all the same production and editorial skills that print does, then there is no reason that jobs should be lost, and every reason for skills to simply converge and become even more relevant.
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