Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on the Government's new plan to boost supermarket competition

The Government hopes more progress on competing with the supermarket duopoly will bring down prices.

It's announced what it calls an express lane, allowing for new supermarkets to open in New Zealand.

If a supermarket will boost either regional or national competition, it will be considered to be fast-tracked.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says these changes are set to be pushed through quite quickly.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here the excellent from Chris Luxon go the Prime Minister
with me right now? Is Barry Sober, the senior our
senior political correspondent.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
I totally agree with that Texter that it was excellent.
I thought it was a great cell of New Zealand.
And imagine if Taylor and what's his name Travis comes here,
It'll be marvelous for New Zealand. You know, the world's
media would be focused on us and doesn't matter whether
it's a bit cringey. I mean shows you can sort

(00:27):
of get down with the real people. I like it.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Oh yeah, look it continues a long tradition of New
Zealand Prime Minister is just being really cringey. Well the
world stage.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
I wouldn't put it cringey. I just think it's them
just acting up a but no, I think it's jolly good.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yeah, no, absolutely, Why not do what you can to hustle?
We need it? Okay, what do you make? I like
the supermarket announcement.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
So do I And you know, of course we're all
wondering how they were going to pull it off, what
they were going to do, and I think particularly the
one stop shop for streamlining building con that's to me,
big deal, because you know it's taken so long to
get consent in this country, and that's the problem with

(01:07):
this country for any business wanting to start up here.
I mean, they sent out a request for information and
they got twenty four replies. Some were existing, some were
people that were looking at coming into this country. Costco
actually Nikola Willis met with Costco and they said, if

(01:29):
these regulations were relaxed, then we would certainly look at
opening more widely throughout the country. And it is competition
that's what drives the prices down. I'll tell you what
Nikola will Is I think captured precisely why there is
a lack of competition in this country. Have a listened.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
They told us that the time and cost involved in
applying for resource and building consents for new supermarkets creates
uncertainty for any new development and makes New Zealand an
unattractive place to set up shop. We were told it
take up to four years to get permission for a
new supermarket and that reaching that point can cost millions

(02:09):
of dollars. Several potential competitors also raise concern that existing
players could potentially use predatory pricing to effectively stamp out
new operators. We will not put up with that, and
so the government has agreed to strengthen provisions in the
Commerce Act to prevent this conduct from happening.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
In this legislation, they're not going to muck around. It'll
be in the House by November and I would imagine
these issues would be resolved early next year. So hopefully
we'll have some interest in other people operating supermarkets in
this country rather than the two that do so at
the moment.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
Good news. Now do you like the idea of acting
these ministries?

Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well, I like old Brian Roach. I know Brian quite well,
and it's not for him to do it. It's not
for him to merge ministry. It would have to be
a cabinet decision. But you know he looked at ministries
the like you've already mentioned Women's Affairs and PACIFICA People's
Disabled ministries. Now, you know, we've got a large public

(03:14):
service and surely the jobs that are done by those
ministries can be absorbed. Not just for your information, Heather,
how to lock up? How many people work at these ministries? Currently?
The Women's Affairs Ministry has a staff of forty two.
The Pacific Ministry, It has a staff of one fifty six.

(03:39):
The CEO of the Women's Ministry has paid up to
two hundred and ninety thousand dollars a year and the
Pacifica Ministry has paid up to five hundred grand a year. Well,
you know, honestly, they could be working within a larger
ministry and do exactly the same job as if we
need a women ministry.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Anyway, Am I not wrong in thinking that the Ministry
for Disabled People was recently split out of the Ministry
for Social Development? Yes, it was, so we can just
go back to it and.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
It can be absorbed by other bigger ministries. And don't
forget this was in fairness to David Seymour. This is
something that he's been banging the drama about for some
time as getting rid of these small ministries. And that's
what they should have done when they looked at the
public service, which is bloated, there's no doubt about it,
and it always has been, it always becomes that way

(04:30):
under a labor government. They really did need to cut
back and they really haven't done the job that they
should have done on the public service.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
Hey, so is the capping rights idea popular?

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Ah? Well comes to no surprise, does it really. I mean,
if you ask people, as the taxpayer's courier, pollsters did that. Basically,
they were asked, the government is planning to introduce a
law which would camp how much local councils can increase
rates by you. Do you support a repose the rates

(05:02):
being capped? Well, of course, most people I would think
would support rates being capped, particularly those going to no.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
No.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
We like rates going up, So it comes as no surprise.
And I guess you know the government will be padding
itself on the back. It's making a policy that is
generally very well thought of in the country and people
will be paying hopefully less for their rates than the
coming years.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
Well if it actually happen. If it happens, thank you
Barry Bears, over seeing your political correspondent.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
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