Asked by reporters if the Government wanted to own a logistics company, English said:
"It's Government-owned, we're going to be keeping it, so they'll have to find a solution."
English said NZ Post and its subsidiary Kiwibank were working out what was the best long-term arrangement between them.
Queried over whether the two state-owned entities could be split up, English said there was already a "degree of separation" between them.
He said there had been discussions over whether NZ Post was subsidising Kiwibank or not.
"Certainly through the start-up phase it has been but NZ Post can't afford to keep cross-subsidising the bank," he said.
NZ Post said today that its proposal over the 500 jobs and other changes "have been widely signalled."
"The process is part of our ongoing change as we redefine ourselves for the future - in response to an annual $20 million-$30 million fall in revenue as people send 60 million fewer letters every year.
"New Zealand Post will continue to deliver mail but increasingly the future is in the parcels space, as online shopping continues to grow."
NZ Post reported a profit of $110 million in the six months ended December 31, from $100 million a year earlier.
Stripping out the gain from asset sales, earnings fell 14 per cent to $74 million on an 8.8 percent drop in revenue to $766 million.
The state-owned enterprise pared back its traditional letter-delivery service last year and moved to alternate day delivery for standard letters in urban areas. At the same time, the group has targeted earnings growth from Kiwibank, which was established 14 years ago.
Letter volumes fell by about 60 million units in the past 12 months, and chief executive Brian Roche said at the time of the result that the company was losing $20 million to $30 million every year from lower letter volumes.
