Turnbull posts Aust Post interview on web

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has dusted off his journo's hat, interviewing an expert on the future of Australia Post in his own show now posted online.

The interview was uploaded to YouTube on the same day as Australia Post announced a further steep drop-off in residential mail volumes, and called on government to support a delivery overhaul.

It was also a week after Mr Turnbull said, on ABC Television's Q&A program, that politicians needed to move beyond slogans and do a better job at explaining complex reforms.

"Australia Post has just announced its half-year result today and the letter result is not a pretty one," Mr Turnbull said while introducing his interview subject, Boston Consulting Group managing director Nick Glenning.

"While Australia Post as a whole has still made a profit ... the growing letters loss is being subsidised, or covered by, the profit in parcels and retail.

"That's not going to last for much longer and without change the company is heading for an overall loss."

Mr Turnbull then quizzed Mr Glenning on steps taken by overseas postal services faced with the same collapse in revenues from its legacy residential mail.

These included increasing stamp costs and reducing the frequency of delivery runs to cut costs.

"If Australia Post were to do nothing, just leave things as it is, how much money could ... this whole Australia Post business end up losing?" Mr Turnbull asked.

Mr Glenning: "We estimated in a report that over a decade, about $10 billion in the letters business overall ... and these losses are going to get bigger and bigger."

Mr Turnbull said that outcome was "unacceptable from any point of view".

The two-part "Tech Talk: Reforming Australia Post" show had attracted about 100 views by Monday afternoon.

Australia Post reported a profit after tax of $98 million for the first half of the 2014/15 financial year - down 56 per cent - and its letters business lost $151 million, a 57 per cent worsening.

It has forecast a full year loss and CEO Ahmed Fahour says reform - such as introducing a two-tiered pricing for letters - is vital.

Australia Post is to face a grilling in a senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Tuesday.

The Communications Electrical Plumbing Union has said it would support sensible reforms.