\u201cThe cost of mailing a magazine (depending on weight) has risen from 63 cents in 2014 to $3.68+GST from 1 July 2026, an increase of 584% over 12 years,\u201d the MPA and PrintNZ said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the same period, cumulative consumer price inflation was approximately 33%. In the past five years alone, Publication Post rates have more than tripled, with annual increases averaging 28%.\u201d<\/p>\n
Magazine Publishers Association chair Stuart Dick.<\/p>\n
MPA chairman Stuart Dick said these were not normal prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are multiples of inflation, compounding year after year, imposed by a monopoly provider with no regulatory oversight of its pricing.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo other essential infrastructure service in New Zealand operates without independent price scrutiny. Gas, electricity, [and] broadband all have some level of oversight or controls. Postal services should too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dick said the impact of unchecked price rises fell hardest on provincial and rural New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cNZ Post\u2019s zonal pricing structure charges the highest rates for delivery to the areas with the least competition. Magazines, newsletters and membership publications that serve rural audiences \u2013 often the only source of in-depth, specialist reporting on primary industries, conservation and regional issues \u2013 are being priced out. <\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral titles have already closed or reduced print frequency, and the MPA warns that further consolidation is inevitable without intervention. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe consequences extend beyond the publishing industry: fewer titles means fewer voices and the erosion of more analytical forms of journalism that magazines provide as a counterweight to the daily news cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n
It has sent a formal submission to the Commerce Commission, requesting a market study.<\/p>\n
NZ Post mail general manager Matt Geor acknowledged the cost pressures and \u201cthe important role magazines and specialist publications play in New Zealand communities\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cNZ Post is committed to continuing to provide a commercially sustainable mail service for New Zealanders, and we will continue to deliver mail as long as Kiwis are sending it.\u201d<\/p>\n
NZ Post’s magazine delivery costs are in the spotlight. Photo \/ supplied<\/p>\n
However, the way New Zealanders were communicating had changed \u201csignificantly\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cMail volumes continue to decline as communication shifts to digital channels and are now around one-tenth of their peak levels in the early 2000s. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo put this in perspective, New Zealand addresses currently receive less than two letters each per week, compared to 7.5 in 2013 and around 20 items in the early 2000s. With a largely fixed-cost national network, this significantly increases the cost to deliver each mail item.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said NZ Post had worked hard to limit price increases through \u201cefficiency gains and network changes\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, there are practical limits to the cost reduction this can achieve without affecting service levels. More recently, NZ Post has had to lift prices to better reflect costs and maintain a reliable and sustainable nationwide mail service.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile comparisons to inflation are understandable, postal pricing is influenced primarily by the volume decline, with the inflationary pressures adding to the challenge. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not believe that a market study would be useful in this context. <\/p>\n
We are always happy to work with customers to explore options when we increase our prices and encourage customers to speak with us directly.\u201d <\/p>\n
A Commerce Commission spokeswoman told Media Insider that market studies could be self-initiated by the commission or the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuch decisions are discussed with the minister and the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment. No decisions have been made about possible future topics of study.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to gather information to better understand potential competition issues arising in markets, to inform our views on potential market study candidates. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe welcome information from people on the competition issues in markets they think we should or could undertake a study into.\u201d<\/p>\n
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand\u2019s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe cost of mailing a magazine (depending on weight) has risen from 63 cents in 2014 to $3.68+GST…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,3043,7520,2371,37153,802,10666,31143,14724,8482,78,5345,2454,47532,2936,296,15220,4974,1073,111,139,69,90,1523,3117,58659,26525,21694,199,21638,61,53923,8218],"class_list":["post-428602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-call","tag-commerce","tag-commission","tag-consolidation","tag-costs","tag-cuts","tag-delivery","tag-further","tag-huge","tag-in","tag-increase","tag-industry","tag-inevitable","tag-insider","tag-into","tag-line","tag-magazine","tag-media","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-over","tag-post","tag-publishers","tag-pulled","tag-step","tag-take","tag-titles","tag-to","tag-unless","tag-warns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}