The Green Party has announced a plan to break up the supermarket duopoly by creating a publicly owned supermarket chain called KiwiMart, as part of its Affordable Kai election policy.
Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said that New Zealand produces enough food to feed 40 million people, but it has somehow become too expensive for too many New Zealanders.
"Two companies control what almost everyone in this country eats, and they take about a million dollars a day in excess profit out of our shopping baskets. That is money that should be in people's pockets,” said Swarbrick.
"Everyone agrees we need competition in the grocery sector to drive down prices, but successive Governments have failed to lure one. That's why today we are announcing the real solution: a supermarket owned by all New Zealanders, for all New Zealanders."
She added that the country was not short of supermarkets, but short of competition.
“As experts have noted, divestment - that is, buying already existing stores - is key to breaking up the duopoly."
The full policy includes:
- Breaking up the supermarket duopoly, requiring at least 120 stores and distribution centre capacity to be sold into public ownership.
- Establishing KiwiMart, a publicly owned supermarket chain with the mandate to prioritise affordability.
- Banning price gouging at supermarkets, through a bill to ban excessive pricing. The ban will be extended to other uncompetitive sectors, including energy and fuel.
- Increasing funding, penalties and powers for the Commerce Commission, including a mandatory pricing accuracy code with automatic compensation when shoppers are overcharged.
- A National Food Strategy, including a legislative right to adequate and nutritious food.
- A NZD 150 million a year Fair Food Fund for community-led food security, and a doubling of the cap on food grants.
- Restoring and permanently funding Ka Ora, Ka Ako, and expanding it to 150,000 more children.
A Parliamentary Library modelling puts the cost of acquiring 120 stores and two distribution centres at NZD 1.3 billion, with a further NZD 1.5 billion to capitalise KiwiMart as a commercially viable competitor.
Swarbrick mentioned that successive governments have studied this problem to death with market studies, codes of conduct and stern letters, while grocery prices have skyrocketed.
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson added the plan will also rebuild the parts of the food system that governments have run down, such as restoring Ka Ora, Ka Ako, putting NZD 150 million a year into the food rescue organisations, food hubs, marae and social supermarkets, as well as lift funding for food banks and regional food distribution from up to NZD 8 million to NZD 25 million.
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