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# The Scapegoats Are Now at the Checkout
- URL: https://goodoil.news/the-scapegoats-are-now-at-the-checkout/
- Published: 2026-09-22T20:30:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T20:30:22.000Z
- Description: What the political rush to punish supermarkets reveals about modern campaigning.
- Author: Reproduced with permission
- Tags: NZ Politics, Business, Election 2026

[**Simon O’Connor**](https://onpointnz.substack.com/p/scapegoats-at-the-checkout)  
*Husband, step-father, foster dad, and longtime student of philosophy and history. Also happen to be a former politician, including chairing New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Committee.*

This election year’s scapegoat is clear – supermarkets. Every election has some form of scapegoat or ‘baddie’ to blame. This year it turns out to be the mums and dads running the likes of New World or Four Square, while the previous election in 2023, it was landlords and property owners, and before that it was the mad Covid years.

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ao22!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb33188c-fc3d-406b-9862-e2a739c8ada9_1536x1024.png)

It’s always useful for politicians of any hue to have some group of people to blame, or to direct societies worries and concerns towards. Partly it’s a distraction technique. It’s not those in parliament who are the problem: it’s those guys over there. But the key reason is that once a political target is identified, then political parties can start providing supposed solutions.

As I’ve written before about the [nature of scapegoating](https://onpointnz.substack.com/p/desire-scapegoats-and-death), there is always a degree of connection between the accusation and group being blamed. We do have very expensive groceries in New Zealand. We notice the cost every time we go to the supermarket, and it would be great if we could see lower prices. Undoubtedly, being a duopoly has some impact on pricing but I think it is simplistic to think this is solely the issue. There is a long logistical train from the product planted in the ground to ending up packaged in the fresh aisle, or the lamb reared and eventually in the meat section.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/2026/09/image-26.png)

[Desire, scapegoats, and death... ](https://onpointnz.substack.com/p/desire-scapegoats-and-death)

[Simon O’Connor](https://substack.com/profile/176628471-simon-oconnor?ref=goodoil.news) 5 September 2024 [Read full story](https://onpointnz.substack.com/p/desire-scapegoats-and-death)

We are also an exporting nation and consequently, we pay export prices. We might want to pay less for milk, cheese, and lamb but we also want the income that our farmers receive for their products. It shouldn’t be lost on us that New Zealand farmers could sell everything they make overseas.

So the political parties are all lining up with what I deem a mad array of ideas to address the supermarket scapegoat.

First out of the gate were New Zealand’s resident communists, the Green Party. Inspired by Marx and company, they want to seize the means of production (of a sorts) and have the government buy out 120 or so supermarkets across New Zealand. They will then turn these into ‘KiwiMart’ – a government owned and run supermarket chain. To be fair, it won’t be Chlöe and Marama setting prices, but a group of bureaucrats at arm’s length – as if that will make it any better.

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SVBa!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb32e781d-136e-4533-86c0-547e97c21c0d_1312x1199.jpeg)

Some of amusing AI images created after the Green Party supermarket policy announcement.

No thought appears to have been given that most supermarkets are run by ordinary Kiwis trying to get ahead and support their families. To the Greens, this appears of no consequence, and they will simply buy them out and assume these owners will find something else to do.

Very confusingly, the National Party then decided to enter the fray and threw some of its last centre-right credentials out the window. They are going to empower the Commerce Commission to separate the two major brands within Foodstuffs – Pak’nSave and New World.

National are supposed to be for private enterprise and business, not intervention of this nature. The catalyst is undoubtedly a response to polls and focus groups that see ‘cost of living’ as the critical issue and consequently the hope that National will be seen as doing something by announcing this breakup of Foodstuffs.

Ironically, it was National that invented the phrase ‘cost of living’ and now have it boomerang back on them. The policy may appeal to the frustrated but it will make matters worse, not better.

Personally, I think Foodstuffs’ response has been very slick – with local Four Square, Pak’nSave, and New World owners posting to social media about their businesses, their families, their contribution to local communities and so on. I know several owners across the country, and they are rightly confused and upset but also doing a very good job at communicating their view back into the public square.

Not only has National sent a very poor message to businesses but has brought back the shadow of Muldoonism. As some are asking, it is supermarkets today but who will National next target.

It is also confusing why Luxon and Willis have effectively taken heat away from the mad ideas of the left. Up until their policy announcement, this was a topic they could use to criticise the left but is now one they are seen as equally complicit in. Both should have learned from the earlier untidy messaging around taxes where they were rightly criticising the left’s obsession with nine new taxes yet decided it was a good idea to then suggest some of their own. Fortunately, National’s campaign team quickly cauterised the issue and returned to a no new taxes platform.

The policy however is not totally crazy when viewed in the light of very tight election race. There is a reasonable chance they could pick up soft Labour-leaning votes but it will also cost National some of its core vote which will now likely move to ACT. Time will tell if this policy becomes a net positive or negative.

Now, the cynical among us can instantly see the exit strategy if needed, for the Commerce Commission may decline to act. If that is the case, National gets the benefit of the announcement but no need to follow through. However, this is another policy that does damage to National’s brand and further emphasises its shift to the left and away from its foundational values and principles.

Which brings me to NZ First. They are noting that the National Party have stolen their policy, which by and large is true. But the same criticisms of National now equally apply to them. Again, it will be their polling and focus groups saying that Kiwis are wanting to see some action in this space. With the supermarkets being made the electoral villains, pragmatism overrides principle with yet another centre-right party deciding interfering in private businesses is a good thing.

![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xnbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff26d95e2-c017-4c07-a1db-56fb75965e67_1179x781.jpeg)

Part of NZ First’s response to National’s supermarket policy, yet only drawing attention to their own faulty thinking.

We then have the Labour Party. Not so much late to the party as gazumped by National’s announcement and so has had to repeat it again. In their case, they want to separate the wholesale side from the retail side. This idea flies in the face of just about every expert that notes such a split will be complex, costly, and with a high risk of failure. Like other parties, Labour’s gamble is that voters will respond emotionally to promises of cheaper prices rather than asking whether the policy will actually work.

Speaking of not thinking things through, Te Pāti Māori have also entered the fray promising a tax credit for those on lower incomes so as to give them, in effect, eight weeks of free food. As you’d also expect, they are also announcing lots more taxpayer monies to Māori. Where all this magic money is coming from to benefit only one segment of society is unclear, other than more taxes and borrowing.

Prices for most things are high at the moment be it food or fuel, school uniforms or car repairs. But we will all pay a high price if any of these policies are enacted, and I suspect some parties will also pay the price of putting perceived pragmatism ahead of principle.

Every one of these policies begins with the same assumption – identify a scapegoat and villain, promise a quick fix, and hope voters stop asking difficult questions.

Just as when choosing a product in store, we should always ask ourselves – will it actually do what it says on the tin?

### In Media

My podcast interview with comedian, satirist, and free speech advocate – Andrew Doyle – has really taken off. If you haven’t already, you can check it out below 👇

And my wife, Rachel, continues her writing on Substack and growing her audience: [Let’s Flourish by Rachel](https://letsflourishnz.substack.com/?utm%5Fsource=substack&utm%5Fcampaign=publication%5Fembed&utm%5Fmedium=web&embedding%5Fpublication%5Fid=2186958)

This article was originally published by [On Point](https://onpointnz.substack.com/p/scapegoats-at-the-checkout).