Getting the morning paper delivered in print is quite a luxury these days.  It reminds me of the time milk was delivered to the door by a milk man with a horse and cart.  But since I started getting The Age in Yarraville, it has been pot luck just where in the street it might land – if at all – and in what condition.  In the apartments of my present address, where there are about five subscribers, it could be spewed all over the footpath and nature strip and be a damp public nuisance – frankly, an ugly disgrace.

So I sought an assurance from The Age that if we put out a box for the papers, the papers could be left in it – safe, dry, and readable.  After some prodding, I got this response: Unfortunately, due to privacy and safety reasons, the delivery drivers are unable to get out of the vehicle and deliver the papers to a newspaper box. 

What that means, I suppose, is that they are not prepared to pay for a proper service – ‘privacy and safety reasons’ mean $$$.  The conclusion is also inevitable that The Age cannot operate as efficiently as Australia Post.  That is very sad for them – and the rest of us.

Oh, well – another win for the robots, another loss for mankind.  At least with the old milk man, you got some useful manure.

The Age – Australia Post – robots.