Package to Malta could not be insured

I appreciate the comments of support for my situation (Parcel From Australia Lost In The Mail, September 13) but I must clarify the situation for the benefit of some contributors who fail to comprehend simple facts.

On making further enquiries with Australia Post it was explained to me that they make a diligent search of any office or clearing area the package may have been to before reporting back.

No one wants to hear negative comments about their native country, so being Maltese you can imagine how embarrassed I felt when it was explained to me by an experienced postal officer that because the package was going to Malta it could not be insured because of the extremely high percentage of items that are "lost". It transpires that Australia Post will insure parcels to all of Europe except Malta and Greece. These postal officers deal with this type of situation on a regular basis and for them to refuse to offer insurance based on the number of parcels lost should be of concern.

I was surprised to learn the number of parcels that get lost is still so high. When I first came here some 44 years ago, the mail system in Malta, back then, was unreliable. It seems nothing has changed, although as Malta is now a member of the European Union, I trusted the mail system might have improved. I will in future resort to the old method of waiting until someone is travelling to Malta and asking them to take the items with them.

I posted the parcel in good faith. It is my belief that the postal system has an obligation to deliver all mail, not just those items that are registered. While it is possible that the package was lost in Australia, I contacted both Australia Post and Malta Post to assist in finding the lost parcel and only Australia Post did anything about it. Malta Post on the other hand totally ignored my request for help and did not even have the courtesy to acknowledge my request. At the time of writing still have not replied. This lack of any interest from Malta Post was the reason for my original letter.

Had Australia Post also treated me the same way, I most certainly would have raised a storm in the press here as well. In contrast however, not only did they respond in a timely manner but they even offered some limited compensation.