Ignore the climate change and water bit of this article. Should Australia post be privatised? Do we need to be able to hold it accountable via political measures? Will there ever be a competitive market place for post, or will we always have only one company? What are the risks we face with a private ower having a monopoly on this service? Are we even short on money anyway?

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Australia-Post-worth-7-billion-report/2007/06/03/1180809329653.html

Australia Post should be sold off and the proceeds used to tackle climate change and secure water supplies, a leading economist says.

A CommSec research note on the feasibility of privatising Australia Post found a sell-off would bring between $5 billion and $7 billion into commonwealth coffers.

The CommSec report noted the European Commission had recommended full liberalisation of the postal market by 2009, while the German government had already floated its national postal services business and Japan was preparing to do the same.

Letter volumes were in long-term decline and Australia Post's business was now centred more on distribution, delivery services, retail operations and financial services in competition with private businesses.

Contrary to the popular belief that its main business is to deliver letters, only 34 per cent of Australia Post's profits came from letters, CommSec said.

In contrast, 43 per cent of profits came from parcel delivery and logistics.

A sell-off of Australia Post would be the latest in long line of controversial privatisations including Telstra, Qantas and, in the early 1990s, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia itself.

The sticking point over any sale of Australia Post would be its community service obligations, especially for rural and regional areas, the CommSec report noted.

"While it would have been almost an unthinkable proposition in the 1970s or 1980s to sell Australia Post, now the focus of Australians is on issues such as water security and the environment rather than getting mail delivered to your mailbox on time."

The internet had boosted the need for parcel delivery services while trade was increasingly global, the CommSec research said.

Yes, sure.  Good idea to sell it off.

How come they can't sell off some of the busineses that lose money ? eg centrelink ?

heheheh

GOOD

Progs wrote on Jun 5^th, 2007 at 5:35pm:


Im a Nationalist progs. I believe all public utilities should be owned by the government, not by private businesses and especially NOT foreign companies.

Ausnat wrote on Jun 5^th, 2007 at 11:10pm:


Really? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a socialist 

Quote:


No, i believe property should be individually owned- Not collectively, and in democracy, what (utility) is owned by the government is owned by the people.

Progs wrote on Jun 6^th, 2007 at 4:17pm:



HMMMM. Freediver might be right.