Mike's Minute: Supermarket and price gouging policies are fanciful
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What is the supermarket price‑gouging battle between Labour and National?
So the battle of the supermarkets, right? It's a beatdown, basically. It unfolded for us. Lucky voters, with Labour and National going head to head over how much head kicking they can do to mainly supermarkets, but seemingly in Labour's case could be the financial sector, Reed Banks, Air Travel, Reed Air New Zealand as well. Both parties' ideas, let the record state, are fanciful. National are probably the worst offenders here, given one, they've been in office virtually a full term and they've only
Why does National’s policy rely only on a Commerce Commission review?
Now got to the business of putting out an actual policy, and two, trouble with the policy is it's merely a review by the Commerce Commission and because of that may never happen. And three, no one is jawbone groceries like Nicola Willis, so her hot air outpaces action. And that's before you get to the bit where it's entirely possible our perceived high prices at supermarkets is a result, as I said before, of a five million person marketplace, not lack of competition. The exact same grievances are the same. Almost daily in Australia, their prices are too high and rising, there aren't enough supermarkets, etc. etc.
How competitive is Auckland’s grocery market compared to the rest of New Zealand?
As was pointed out to me the other day, Auckland actually has a lot of competition. Independents in Auckland have a third of the market. It's not like the food price complaints are only coming from outside of Auckland, are they? As for Labour, they say large companies. They didn't define large. They said excessive profits.
What excess‑profit formula does the Commerce Commission use for supermarkets?
They don't define that either, other than to say the Commerce Commission has some sort of weird formula. Commerce Commission came up with that famous one million dollars a day excess profit line for supermarkets, which may or may not actually be a thing. And on air travel, when you ping Air New Zealand for excess profit, Prices, Nelson to win Vicargle, that will affect the bottom line, of course, increase their losses, push them closer to insolvency. What what a cool policy. Run Air New Zealand out of business.
What would happen if Air New Zealand were forced into bankruptcy over excess pricing?
Large companies, excess prices, but Air New Zealand losing money. What's the plan? Just bankrupt them completely, is it? So national look like a side that's panicked because they talked a big game and delivered little, and Labour are once again in the realm of theory and whiteboarding with clickbait one liners and no real world workings of how many. Many of this actually works or doesn't. They both look like amateurs. They are both disappointing, which might explain why the third-party votes increase so much. For more from the Mike Asking Breakfast, listen live to News Talks Ed B from 6 a.m. weekdays or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the supermarket price‑gouging battle between Labour and National?
0:00–0:25
2
Why does National’s policy rely only on a Commerce Commission review?
0:25–0:55
3
How competitive is Auckland’s grocery market compared to the rest of New Zealand?
0:55–1:12
4
What excess‑profit formula does the Commerce Commission use for supermarkets?
1:12–1:36
5
What would happen if Air New Zealand were forced into bankruptcy over excess pricing?
1:36–2:08
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The Mike Hosking Breakfast
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