Scott Hammond/Stuff
It’s been three years since NZ Post halted sending mail to more than 30 countries.
It’s been three years since NZ Post halted sending mail to more than 30 countries – and there’s no sign of when the services will resume.
Our national mail carrier has a list of countries to which it won’t or can’t send mail. At the moment there are 34 on the list for various reasons.
It includes conflict zones such as Russia, Ukraine, North Korea and Iran. During the Covid-19 pandemic it stopped flying mail to places like Laos and the Bahamas. During the pandemic 24 countries also stopped sending mail to New Zealand, including the Philippines, Mexico, Chile and Indonesia.
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“>monthslong waits for letters in 2020 as there had been a 95% reduction in the frequency of passenger flights, on which the majority of mail is flown, and some countries had resorted to seafreight, which was taking up to 60 days.
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Thirty-two of the 34 countries on the “can’t send to” list cannot be reached using NZ Post economy mail, but 13 can receive NZ Post’s express mail service, which comes with a hefty price tag of $106 for a document, and on July 1 these prices are set to rise.
An NZ Post spokesperson told Newsroom that the systems for express mail and economy are different, which is why they can offer one service to a country but not the other.
KEVIN STENT/STUFF
NZ Post’s new building in Grenada features a state-of-the art sorting machine that can scan and sort up to 11,000 parcels per hour.
Its economy and courier products are regulated through membership of the Universal Postal Union, and delivered by the destination post in each market.
But three years since the pandemic began, people are calling for normal postal services to resume.
Amnesty International, a global movement in over 150 countries and territories which campaigns to end abuses of human rights, relies on the post to communicate.
Active member of the group Oliver Hoffmann told Newsroom he was frustrated that NZ Post had withdrawn mail services to so many countries. He began to notice letters were getting sent back, including letters from Russia and Morocco, stamped “return to sender”.
David White/Stuff
Customers are unable to get a refund on stamps and envelopes for letters that have been returned.
He had written hundreds of letters to world leaders asking for prisoners of conscience to be released and even with social media, still opted to correspond via letter.
Richard Green, a founding member of Auckland Amnesty International, told Newsroom countries on NZ Post’s outgoing suspension list were countries with regimes likely to be unfairly imprisoning people and said it was a shock when letters were being returned.
“I thought when you posted a letter, it went to the destination, wherever you were in the world, and wherever you were sending it. But that, surprise, surprise, turns out not to be the case,” he said.
Customers were unable to get a refund on stamps and envelopes for letters that have been returned, even if they were unaware they were sending to a prohibited country.
Green contacted CEO David Walsh, as well as the Universal Postal Union, and Consumer NZ to complain.
NZ Post has been approached for further comment.
