This is edition 2024/148 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Welcome to the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
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1. Time to break up the supermarket duopoly
Bryce Edwards
- 🛒 New Zealand politicians and public servants tend to make small adjustments rather than substantial changes in sectors like banking, building supplies, and electricity, influenced by lingering fears of market interference from the neoliberal era.
- 🍎 The grocery sector, dominated by Foodstuffs and Woolworths, faces criticism for its lack of competition, leading to high prices and excessive profits.
- 📊 Despite calls for reform from experts like the OECD, regulatory efforts have been ineffective, allowing the duopoly to maintain its control through lobbying and market manipulation.
- 💼 The Grocery Commissioner's report highlights ongoing abuses by supermarkets, with prices rising and suppliers facing increased exploitation.
- 💡 Proposed solutions, like reforming the failed regulated grocery retailers scheme and cracking down on land banking, face skepticism about their effectiveness in fostering real competition and lowering consumer costs.
