All have committed to retaining Australia Post in government ownership.

The Coalition has pledged that should it win government it will appoint Directors to the Australia Post Board who have “experience that is relevant to the postal industry”.

The ALP made no commitment to withdraw the proposed AUSTRAC fees for LPOs.

The ALP noted that it hopes that the introduction of the National Broadband Network will reduce the establishment costs for EPOS facilities in LPOs in regional and rural Australia.  Furthermore, the ALP “…believes that Australia Post licensees will play a key role in providing digital services to all Australians, regardless of where they live, once the NBN has been delivered.”

The Coalition noted the various small business initiatives they intend to introduce should they win office.

The Greens noted their in-principle support of increasing rural services through the provision of EPOS, and that they agree for the need for postal industry expertise on the Australia Post Board.

A heavy vehicle is either of the following:

• a vehicle with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of greater than 4.5 tonne
• a diesel vehicle acquired before 1 July 2006 with a GVM equal to 4.5 tonnes or more.

To substantiate any fuel taxc credit claim, you will need to keep records that show you acquired the fuel and how you used it. The ATO advises that examples of acceptable records include:

• fuel dockets;
• invoices; and
• log books.

You will need to keep these records for five years from when you made your claim.

For more information on fuel tax credit rates for heavy vehicles, visit the ATO website.

Date: Tuesday 24 August 2010

Time: 7:30pm sharp

Venue: Darebin RSL, 402 Bell St, Preston

Our guest speaker will be Christine Corbett, Australia Post’s new Executive General manager of Retail Services.  As the head of Australia Post’s retail network, we look forward to hearing Christine’s vision for the role of LPOs in the 21st century.

There will be a discussion of National and State matters following Christine’s presentation.

Join us and take part in what will be an interesting and informative evening.

RSVP to the POAAL National Office by fax on 03 96544577 by Friday 20 August.

The federal Rural Transaction Centre and Bank@Post programmes funded the installation of EPOS at 400 LPOs across Australia. POAAL is now pushing for all remaining manual LPOs to be upgraded to be able to offer all of Australia Post’s services. It has been shown that not only is business easier with EPOS, but business levels increase.

Do you operate a manual LPO? Would you like EPOS at your LPO? Here’s what you can do:

• Write to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, urging them to include this initiative in their postal policies.
• Ask your local Federal member and candidates for their support.
• Encourage your community to get behind this campaign.

POAAL has prepared a pro forma letter that you can use to write to the Prime Minister.

Support this campaign – your business and your community stand to benefit!

Increases payable from 1 July 2010 include:

• National and State billpay
• Manual and electronic banking
• Passport renewals
• ID&V transactions
• Mail Service Payment
• Various non-standard agency transactions

Australia Post agreed to POAAL’s requests for the interest-free security loan to be extended for another year and for an increase to the minimum payment allowance.

All Licensees should receive official notification of these increases this week.  The notification should be attached to your LPO Agreement as it forms part of your Agreement.

These increases are effective from 1 July 2010.  Licensees should check July LiPOMS for accuracy.

Yet again, the Government has missed the opportunity to appoint Directors to the Australia Post Board with postal industry experience.

This service is optional and is designed to reduce red tape and compliance costs for small businesses when meeting their super guarantee obligations.

The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) is administered by Medicare Australia and lets employers pay their super contributions to a single location in one simple electronic transaction.

Small businesses that register to use the service will have their super guarantee obligation discharged when payment of the correct amount is accepted by the clearing house by the super payment cut-off date (so long as the payment is not rejected by the fund).

The SBSCH service will be available to eligible small businesses from 1 July 2010.

Register online for the service by visiting the Medicare website at www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/super or phoning Medicare on 1300 660 048.

Ten of these rickshaws will be trialled before a national rollout.

These solar powered rickshaws – known as Soleckshaws – are a form of Pedicab, a pedal-operated and motor assisted zero-carbon emission, urban transport vehicle. The speed of a Soleckshaw matches a powered vehicle in downtown traffic conditions at around 10-15 kmh.

There are no solar panels on the rickshaw itself. Each vehicle carries a deep cycle battery that is recharged from a central recharging station which is powered by solar energy.

Customers can apply for Swiss Post Solutions to scan their mail and redirect it to their electronic Swiss Post Box.

Recipients can access the images of the envelopes and issue further instructions. They can choose whether to open the envelopes and have the content scanned in, or whether to have the letter forwarded to them in physical form, or even have it destroyed.

The service is called “Single Easy”, and costs the same as Swiss Post’s mail forwarding service.

POAAL has worked with insurance broker GWS Genco Group to produce a Basic Business Pack for LPOs.

You can customise the cover to meet your specific needs. And remember that postage stamps are classified as cash for insurance purposes.

Insurance cover for your business is important. Protect your business. If you don’t have your business pack insurance with GWS, contact them today on 1300 881 229.
GWS Genco Group – www.gwsins.com.au/post