NZ Post grilled on closures

New Zealand Post says it has not made an ‘‘announcement’’ about the closure of its remaining 79 PostShop stores but admitted it would continue to replace them with agencies run by the likes of bookshops and pharmacies.

Acting chairwoman Jackie Lloyd told MPs that NZ Post and Kiwibank looked at the future of their combined branches on a ‘‘case-by-case basis’’ when they were considering changes.

She indicated there would be no new changes implemented to its branch network ‘‘until well into 2019’’.

Lloyd and Kiwibank chief customer officer Mark Stephen faced a grilling from the Economic Development, Science and Innovation select committee over their branch network policy yesterday, with National MP Jacqui Dean saying closures appeared to be a ‘‘done deal’’.

NZ Post has appointed 800 agents to provide postal services formerly provided by PostShop outlets, as its mail business declines.

Lloyd said the annual drop in mail volumes meant there were about a million fewer letters sent each week, equating to an annual loss of income of about $30 million for NZ Post.

‘‘Despite recent media coverage, NZ Post has not made an announcement in relation to the closure of our remaining company-operated PostShops,’’ she said.

‘‘However, we are continuing to seek partnerships with local businesses for the provision of postal services so that we can maintain our community presence.’’

That model was ‘‘more financially sustainable’’ and partner businesses often had longer opening hours than PostShops and were also often more conveniently located, she said.

It also benefited those local businesses, she said.

‘‘For many in the community there no discernable difference between company-operated stores and community partners.’’

Stephen defended a decision not to open a Kiwibank branch in the growing Wellington suburb of Johnsonville in the wake of the closure of its combined NZ Post and Kiwibank store, after that decision was queried by National MP Brett Hudson.

But Stephen said it would open a branch in Ashburton, where NZ Post is also switching to an agency model.

Fewer than 5 per cent of Kiwibank customers banked exclusively at branches, and the proportion of overthe-counter bank transactions had halved since 2015, he said.

Dean said the organisations were taking a ‘‘corporate approach’’ that might not suit provincial and rural New Zealand.

‘‘We are continuing to seek partnerships with local businesses.’’ Jackie Lloyd