'afternoon to you ONTHEBEACH...

I can't argue with your logic there ? There's no doubt, Email is far more convenient (though, it does lack the 'personal' touch) than the conventional 'snail mail' we of generations past, are far more appraised of, I'd imagine ?

While Australia Post may have a case, there're fewer letters been posted these days, surely there's a significant 'uptake' with parcel post with the establishment of Ebay and other commercial retailers accessible on our faithful home computer ?

I really don't know, I've always maintained a soft spot for our postal system, with a genuine warmth for our local 'postie' together with the awe in which we held our local Post Master ? The man who virtually controlled and brought to us all the good news, as well as the bad news, in my younger days.

o sung wu,

I share your nostalgia for days gone bye. Although I would not want a return to the hardships and deprivations the substantial majority of Aussies endured in the decades following post-WW2 (or from WW1 through the Depression and then WW2). They were hard times and testament to that is our fond memories of the simple, practical mundane things of life, such as the milkman. I wonder if any are really aware of the endurance of the posties who pedaled those lumbering postie bicycles over hills?

However it was the lack of public custom that killed the snail mail, and the postal couriers too, because many order online and take the cheapest available service, which may not be the one that always caters for all areas while balancing costs across all customers.

You are not one of them, but I find it hypocritical of people like the Greens 'Watermelons' and leftist union heavies who frustrate senior managers with their political games and protect their own selfish entitlement so ferociously, have the gall to turn around and pretend that they are worried about postal services in country areas. Cobblers!

o sung wu, do you remember the exasperation of missing the post, or waiting wondering what might be happening with a loved one travelling? We have gained, not lost.

Foxy you've got that all wrong my sweet. Most "post offices" in smaller country towns, & even city suburbs are private businesses operated by people with another business operating from the same premises. How much they are paid for their post office work depends on their turnover. They must have someone approved by the post service, after sitting a test, to run the post office side of the business.

My parents last business was a post office hardware & gift shop in Kirrawee, a Sydney suburb near Sutherland. Every Monday night they would spend hours filling out the weekly Post office report. It was about a third oh their net income.

Most mail in country areas, including quite large towns with a few thousand residents, have their mail delivered by contractors, who tender for an annual or 3 year contract. I have not had my mail delivered by a public servant in decades.

For many years my address was RMB xxx, MS 112 Howard Queensland. [roadside mail box xxx, mail service 112, Howard Queensland] In fact I lived on 3 different properties 32 miles apart in Wide Bay, all on the same mail service, with the same contractor delivering my mail. I never had to worry about the Post Office stuffing up my redirection notice.

My present bloke runs a ute, with a posty type bike on the back. He uses the bike mostly, operating from different spots where he parks the ute. He only uses that when he has to deliver bulky parcels. The previous lady used a car, & most of us have our mail box out from the front fence, where the posty can get to it without getting out of their car.

Some of these contractors in more remote areas, would supplement their post office income by delivering bread, groceries & hardware for a small fee.

Steely the last thing we can afford is keeping overpaid public servants doing pretend work. We need to switch to contract mail delivery as it has always been through most of the country. By all means give existing letter delivery people first chance to contract for the work, at a competitive price.

They would most likely have to work a bit harder, & cover more area to earn the same income but why shouldn't they? Most of us have to work a bit harder than public servants, usually for a lot less money, & it is time that changed. If country mail contractors have to work hard, & have a sideline to make ends meet, why shouldn't city letter delivery people.

Putting public servants on piece work rates would be about the best thing we could do to bring the budget back into the black, but I suppose they would all have heart attacks & cost us even more.

At least they couldn't go on stress leave, because someone frowned at them. Stress leave is a luxury only available to public servants it appears, & certainly not available to contractors.

While it is true there has been a "collapse" in the general letter business for AP, there has been a "surge" in the parcel business. The now 100% ownership of the Startrack business sees AP well positioned to increase its market share of the ongoing parcel business. With a large number of shop fronts there is also plenty of opportunities to increase the retail financial services business. I don't think there is much of a danger of AP becoming a financial burden on the Australian taxpayer.
As for talk of "keeping overpaid public servants doing pretend work" that's simply ignorant of the facts. The vast majority of Australia Post employees are as hard working as any of their counterparts in the private sector.

Just one question.

If AP is a viable entity operating amongst other similar companies, why on earth does it need to be publicly owned?

If it is sold off, the government gets money to spend on other infrastructure and pay off labor's debt, and still gets 30% of the profits.