The Keep Me Posted campaign has been 'overwhelmed' with support from business and consumers, with more than 1,000 responses to a flyer campaign in the first week alone.
The campaign, which aims to give Australians a choice about whether to receive paper or email communications from billers and government organisations without additional charge, circulated reply-paid postcards attached to flyers detailing information on paper billing and statement fees and invited consumers to have their say on the issue. Figures from the first wave of responses indicated that 88 percent of those who replied supported the campaign due to social justice concerns, with 89 percent wishing to keep physical records of correspondence and 75 percent worried about internet fraud.
Kellie Northwood, executive director of Keep Me Posted, said the response was 'overwhelming'. “Thanks to the partnership, we are reaching out to those Australians who are on the wrong side of the digital divide and heavily rely on postal communications in their daily lives. They are the most vulnerable Australians who deserve their voice to be heard and they shouldn’t be penalised for preferring paper communications over digital ones,” she said.
A spokesperson for Australia Post expressed support for the campaign, which posted the flyers in every Australia Post retail outfit in the country. "Australia Post is both a physical and digital business and we believe in providing customers with choice in the way they transact with business and government organisations. We have an important role to play to help our communities realise the productivity benefits of a connected digital age, while ensuring nobody is left behind or excluded from accessing important everyday services," the spokesperson said.
Mailing solutions suppliers such as Neopost have also come out in favour of Keep Me Posted, with Tony Cartwright, product manager at Neopost, saying companies often don't look at the pros of paper and the cons of electronic communications. "Paper based mail has many benefits. It can be redirected to your new address - users pay for that, it has desk life, and it has never locked your PC down with a virus.
"Advertising spend on paper based mail is apparently dropping in various statistics shown. However, Australia Post has surveys that shows paper as the best medium to attract attention. It should be growing and Post could be further encouraging this endeavour," Cartwright said.
Keep Me Posted is encouraging consumers to write to their state and federal MPs to express their support for the campaign and its goals after recent legislative wins, including a motion asking the Government to bring consumer protection against fees on paper communications, which was moved in the lower House by Tim Hammond MP, Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs, and then passed with a clear majority in the Senate.