Waipā posties whose RD3 contract was cancelled after they complained their freight was being delivered by other contractors have been denied a ministerial inquiry.
Ian and Danny Kennedy were contracted by NZ Post to sort, process, uplift and deliver “all mail and other items for delivery” for the Tamahere RD3 rural post run from April 1, 2019. They invested $500,000 into the business which ran six vans with five staff.
Te Awamutu News – July 25
Their contract was cancelled on November 10, 2023, after they asked why other contractors were sorting, processing, uplifting, and delivering mail in the district.
Professional driver advocate ProDrive chief executive Peter Gallagher wrote to New Zealand Post chair Carol Campbell and state-owned enterprises minister Paul Goldsmith over the matter on June 5 and again on July 10.
Gallagher’s letters were passed to Chris Bishop because Goldsmith is renegotiating the Government’s postal carrier contract with NZ Post and had a conflict of interest, Bishop’s senior press secretary Mikaela Bossley said. The letter was passed on again to Deputy Leader of the House Simeon Brown because Bishop was on leave.
In a statement provided by Brown’s senior press secretary Ben Craven, Brown said: “Under section 5(2) of the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986, operational matters such as those relating to contractors are the responsibility of the company’s board and management. Correspondence has been passed on to NZ Post and it will respond directly to Mr Gallagher.
“The Government is not intending to establish a Ministerial inquiry into this issue.”
Barbara Kuriger
Taranaki-King Country National MP Barbara Kuriger, who has been briefed by Gallagher, was surprised to hear that the case had been passed from Bishop to Brown and that Brown’s reply had declined an inquiry.
“I do believe that this needs to be looked at. I have seen some things that made me feel pretty uncomfortable,” Kuriger said.
“It’s not a good idea for people to be investigating themselves. I don’t know what I can change, but I am obliged to try.”
Responding to a request to interview Campbell, NZ Post external communications lead Greta Parker said: “NZ Post politely declines to comment on the matter.”
Danny Kennedy has spoken of the toll the cancellation of their contract has taken on her and her husband.
“When New Zealand Post cancelled our run we lost our livelihood,” she said.
“We lost the ability to pay the mortgage on the business loan. We had no means or no way to pay that business loan, and we were forced into a sell situation because we were unable to pay that business mortgage because we lost everything.”
After moving out on June 27 the couple moved to the South Island because they couldn’t afford to stay in the Waikato.
“I’ve left my son and grandkids in Hamilton and a daughter in Auckland. I’ve only ever lived in Waikato and Auckland, it has a terrible cost, and I can’t get back that time I have lost with my children,” Kennedy said.
“Ian is 63 years old, without a job currently, and I am nearly 60. You can’t start again at that age when a company has ripped your financial life apart. Now we live in a 1930s home instead of a brand-new home that we built that was going to be our forever home.”
Danny and Ian Kennedy
