What does Ardern’s Government do when people stop praising it and start to complain about the high cost of living?
Naturally, they say, ”Look over there!” It’s never their fault.
They knew in 2018 that food products made here were cheaper to buy in Australia. Why didn’t they address the supermarket duopoly four years ago?
Victoria University economist Norman Gemmell has studied how our prices compare to the rest of the world, and his report showed New Zealand had almost 50 per cent higher food and non-alcoholic beverage prices compared to the world as a whole.
Stuff October 2018
Ardern took no notice and by 2020 was preoccupied with claiming that New Zealand was leading the world in the war on Covid. Who cared about a supermarket duopoly when a modeller had predicted that 80,000 of us might die?
Draconian border closures and persistent lockdowns decimated small businesses. By December 2021 business closures exceeded the creation of new businesses for the first time in nearly a decade.
Closures were most prominent in those sectors most affected by the pandemic, including hospitality, tourism, event, wholesale trade and fitness sectors, he said.
The consequences were devastating for many people’s livelihoods, he said.
“What we are talking about is not just businesses here, these are people, this is a lot of partners, husbands and wives, and families impacted, often multiple generations.
“Every time a business closes that’s lost wealth, health, relationships and sometimes lives as well.”
RNZ December 2021
You don’t need me to tell you about the lack of competition driving up prices or the government’s timing of their announcement to finally address the supermarket duopoly this week, after four years.
The Government has announced New Zealand’s two main supermarket chains will be forced to sell groceries to competitors at set prices if they don’t open up their wholesale offerings to other retailers adequately.
“No ifs or buts, greater competition, a wider range and cheaper products will be provided to New Zealanders through these changes,” Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark says.
A little paltry muscle-flexing from a minister of the government responsible for the hike in the price of essential food and fuel and which made hospital treatment harder to obtain because hospitals are overwhelmed, understaffed and under-resourced.
This is the same government that made housing less affordable. More people are living in government-funded motels and cars today than four years ago. At the end of 2017, there were 108 people living in cars; at the start of August this year there are 480.
What happened to the prime minister’s promise to end child poverty?
Does anyone believe this Government is capable of anticipating the loopholes the major supermarkets will undoubtedly discover to maintain their market edge?
In what is being described as an “unprecedented shake-up of the grocery sector”, the minister announced on Wednesday the major chains will be required to open their wholesale operations up to smaller retailers. This is intended to “give a leg up to the likes of smaller retailers and new market entrants”.
“It means other retailers will now be able to source and sell a wider range of groceries at better prices,” Clark said.
“Under these changes the existing duopoly will be required to negotiate wholesale offerings to their competitors on commercial terms. However if those prices are not what we would expect in a competitive wholesale market the new Grocery Commissioner will be able to impose additional regulation to force fairer prices.”
Minister David Clark August 2022
Strangely, the public lets the government get away with more vacuous promises despite their history of promises made and not kept because they were notoriously skimpy on detail.
Yet again there is no government transparency or accountability and no one notices a thing.
