Stamps to rise to 50c next January, ACCC approves Aust Post move
The price of the basic postage stamp will rise by five cents to 50 cents next January – the first increase in 11 years.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today cleared the way for the increase, saying that ordinary small letters are priced below cost.
Australia Post national spokesman Gary Highland said the price rise would happen from January 13, 2003. The price increase would also affect large letters, greeting cards and prepaid envelopes.
“The five cents increase represents a rise of 11 per cent and compares with a 100 per cent increase in the price of a litre of milk and a 50 per cent rise in the price of a loaf of bread over the last 10 years,” he said in a statement.
Mr Highland said that at 50 cents, Australia’s basic postage rate would still be one of the lowest in the developed world.
By comparison, Canada’s basic rate is the equivalent of 53c, France 62c, German 76c, Italy 66c and the UK 56c.
