Why the new Groceries Commissioner is like an umbrella to protect from a Tsunami

Kiwis lash out at Government’s new Grocery Commissioner, question what’s going to change

Kiwis are questioning the appointment of New Zealand’s first Grocery Commissioner, wondering when “real action” will occur as Consumer NZ revealed more “dodgy” supermarket deals.

The Groceries Commissioner is a virtue signal to look like something is changing and Monopoly Watch NZ are damning in their assessment…

The lawyers and lobbyists who serve the monopolists deserve handsome congratulations for their sterling efforts in disrupting, diluting and defanging the initial work of the Commerce Commission. They succeeded in having it kick into touch the policy difficulty of breaking up a cartel, a move tantalisingly contemplated in the its Draft Report. Now, Cabinet is so gun-shy about forced divestment that it will not permit the public to have a say in the matter. In fact, it won’t even let the public see the results of the studies on options for forced divestment, which it commissioned from Coriolis, Sense Partners and Cognitus. And these include a comparison of the “costs of divestment” with the Commerce Commission’s estimates of the supermarket chains’ excess profits. Price competition, innovation – along with the pay packets of Kiwi consumers — have been sacrificed to fears of outlier scenarios and unintended consequences.

…the cost of living crisis is hurting the very voters Labour promised to be transformative for.

The Left have done sweet fuck all for the material hardships of poverty, housing, inequality and climate change.

As I have pointed out tirelessly, while Labour saved us from Covid, they haven’t saved us from the ruthlessness of the under regulated free market.

I argued we would see double digit food inflation last year and that asking kiwis to endure more isn’t a political solution.

We hit 12.1% food inflation last month and the damage to crops is going to see food prices spike.

Voters need to hope that their basic costs will come down.

Voters need to believe a new Supermarket backed by the Government could do that.

The Commerce Commission has argued that if Competition doesn’t occur, they have the power to force a 30% sale to a 3rd Supermarket chain and I argue that should be the State!

Covid taught us food security matters and a Supermarket chain that embeds a cheaper food security while supporting local supplies is a necessity to correct a broken market!

Government should enter into a deal with Iwi to stock a new chain of Government/Iwi Supermarkets that champion local produce at better prices for the consumer and better worker conditions.

We need a kiwi subsidy on all local produce to recognize that producers have already used water and created local climate changing gases to create their product and as such consumers have already paid a price just to get the product to their table.

We should feed the 5million here first before boasting about feeding 40million world wide!

Calls to ‘feed the 5 million first’ before exporting NZ food

People are going hungry even though New Zealand produces enough food to feed 40 million – and it’s spurring calls for the country to “feed the five million first”.

Almost 40 percent of New Zealand households experience food insecurity, while 19 percent of children live in households that experience food insecurity.

Poverty researcher Dr Rebekah Graham said while working on her thesis on food insecurity, she interviewed a woman who walked for 90 minutes each day to get a free community meal.

A state owned 3rd supermarket chain would do more for providing a cheaper means of living to all kiwis who have food security issues. It would do more for welfare than any single PM since Savage.

History is calling Chippy.

To date Labour have had nothing to show beyond crisis responses. We still have hundreds of thousands of kids in poverty, 22000 on emergency housing lists, growing inequality and a climate crisis with no real solutions.

A state owned supermarket chain that radically forced competition on base level cost of living for a vast swathe of New Zealanders would be a legacy worthy of Labour.

We need to be kinder to individuals and crueler to corporations.

Cyclone Gabrielle changes everything,  you must accept that some big vision projects are necessary and not just more tinkering?

The people are hurting economically, is the Left so bereft of ideas beyond middle class identity politics virtue signals that we have nothing to offer them?

As I have said time and time again, if you don’t want the poor to have their economic misery manipulated by the Right, then do something about their economic misery!

The Supermarket Duopoly is still operating and still price gouging, we don’t have effective market competition, the Commerce Commission has the power and has previously recommended the State seize 30% of the existing Duopoly and force entry level competition as a 3rd player.

It requires spine.

Food prices are only going to go up, you need a solution to what will be a food prices crisis in 3 months time.

People will lose their shit if they can’t afford to eat.

What is the point of Bread and Butter politics if no one can afford to buy the bread or the butter?

 

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