Home Mailboxes on the Chopping Block As New Zealand’s Postal Service Cuts Costs

New Zealanders have become used to postal services shrinking while the price of stamps rises, but the latest proposal—to do away altogether with home mail delivery—may prove to be a step too far. From mail deliveries six days a week, NZ Post is now required to deliver mail only three days a week in urban areas and five days in rural areas. And the familiar post office has almost completely disappeared, giving way to licenced outlets, usually superettes or bookshops. Under its current Deed of Understanding with the government, NZ Post—a government-owned company run by an independent board—must maintain 880 such “points of presence,” of which 240 are manned outlets....