Labour’s Supermarket Policy and Greens Commercial Landlord Policy – these are policies worthy of consideration but electorate wants culture war revenge fantasies
Labour’s Supermarket Policy will happen as opposed to a review by Willis…
It’s breakup season: Labour, National clash on tearing up grocery duopoly
Labour will force Woolworths and Foodstuffs to split their businesses if elected, separating their supermarket chains from the wholesale arms that supply shops — in a bid to give smaller grocers a better shot at competing.
1News
…these technical infrastructure changes will create downward pressure on prices, ACT will simply rule Willis out so National’s promises are hollow and insincere.
The Greens have also proposed real structural changes to commercial landlords to rejuvenate city centres…
Green Party campaigns on inner-city rental auctions for empty shops
The Green Party is promising to help small businesses get a fair deal on commercial rents, if elected in November.
“We want thriving towns and cities, which means filling vacant spaces with our country’s limitless talent, creativity and entrepreneurship,“ co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said on Sunday.
“After years of construction and disruption in Auckland city centre, we can and must make the most of our awesome new City Rail Link by actively supporting vibrancy, which in turn makes our city safer.”
Her party’s policy has three prongs – changing rules that apply to market rent reviews, allowing councils to run rental auctions, and letting small businesses take commercial rent disputes to an independent tribunal.
Stuff
…what Labour and the Greens are proposing here are sensible changes that actually work.
These are policies worthy of consideration but the electorate wants culture war revenge fantasies, not solutions!
All NZ First and ACT have this election is culture war grievance, malice and spite.
ACT are the racist right and NZF are the cooker right.
This country is not failing because of karakia, honouring the Treaty, vaccines or the Trans.
This country is failing because Big Polluters, Property Pimps, Banks, Corporations and the mega wealthy use their political influence to lock into place their monopolies, duopolies, oligopolies to ensure plutocracy.
The Right manipulate peoples petty bigotries for their donors interests.
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For crying out loud people, tell it like it is.
We are rapidly reaching end stage neoliberalism.
Incremental tinkering around the periphery without dealing with malign heart of this credo will merely prolong the inequality and suffering of workers and those who cannot find work.
The capitalists lie that competition is the answer is laid bare by power, food and housing costs increasing uncontrolled.
Peter Wilson
If Labour wins and actually comes through on breaking up the grocer’s cartel may be prices would come down 10%.
Add the removal of 15% Gst from food bought at grocery shops then a families food budget could drop by 25%.
What could people do with 25% lower food bills?
Feed their families well. Save for a house deposit. Pay off a student loan.
Pay off a mortgage sooner.
Rent a better home.
Spend some food money in the hospo sector.
NO GST ON FOOD!
NO GST ON KAI!
Bernard Hickey is spot on with his analysis.
Labour has proposed1 forcing both Foodstuffs and Woolworths to run their wholesale operations independently from their retail stores. That appears to gazump National’s plan to only break up Foodstuffs, although that plan was itself a gazumping of Labour’s initial idea for a vague ban on price gouging.
The trouble is both Labour and National have been here before, threatening to regulate or breakup the duopoly, but with little real action that reduces prices for consumers and eases the cost of living pain that voters say is their main concern in Election 2026.
Also, both ideas are already under concerted attack by vested interests, including big political donors, and will have to get through yet more official reviews and overcome intense undisclosed lobbying that is now endemic throughout various levels of Government.
In my view, it will be tough to unshackle this major part of our economy, along with other captured sectors such as electricity, gas, banking and insurance, without proper reform of our lobbying and political disclosure regimes, as author Max Rashbrooke points out in the interview above on his report with Lisa Marriott about lobbying published last Thursday..
https://thekaka.substack.com/p/how-nzs-captured-economy-is-eroding
Anything about banning once were kiwi but now australian owned banksters from operating here? Anything about a commission of inquiry into the secrets never shared between neoliberalism and the cult that’s the national party / labour party mafia that seems ok with homeless people dying in shop doorways?
The reason why I have my doubts about intent and outcome is because the SAS and the SIS under the directives of Whitehall haven’t raided the latest parliamentary sitting and arrested all of the front bench of all the parties present while other units are not, as I write, bashing down the doors of the 26 multi-billionaires to arrest them pending public investigations.
Good comments of course not Labour are pathetic, big hoohah about the property owners not having to pay tax on their properties and just tonight Labour have said they will not backtrack that. For goodness sake spineless pathetic party very irritating. No wonder more and more people are voting for the Greens who have a tax policy that will mean 94% of people will pay less tax and the big boys tax will increase. The front bench should all be lined up for a number of things including the genocide that is going on in Gaza, these people have no heart and no morals.
I like Labours supermarket proposal better than the Greens although their commercial rent changes are long overdue. Major roadworks drop sales yet building owners usually expect the lease to be paid in full.
I often shop at some of the independent stores although the NZ products they sell are usually more expensive than paknsave so getting them a better deal on wholesale prices will promote the competition we need.
Last week we had National, who have passed through more legislation under urgency than anyone, saying Labour/Greens supermarket policy was rushed and not thought through. We also had the smoke-free abolitionists NZ First campaigning to make NZ healthy again. I don’t think this government coalition knows what it stands for bomber.
I am shocked and disappointed with National ‘s policy on super market take over.I would expect this lite touch communist from Greens and Labour but not National.
Great expectations eh Pip!
Trevor read up about communism you clearly don’t really understand it.
Listen to you Trevor. “Communist”. So it’s a communist country because we have Kiwibank and government owned a ferry service option?
National have f’d up a number of things but this is the policy you have an issue with?