Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Does buying NZ-made ever work?

First of all, can I start by offering an apology to TVNZ? I gave them a bit of grief last night for starting the news bulletin with the peaches, but it turns out I was wrong and they were right.

This has sparked a flurry of debate over whether we prefer our Wattie's peaches from Hawke's Bay or whether we don't really care if it comes from China or not. 

It's also prompted a statement from Wattie's asking us to support local growers. In other words, can we please buy New Zealand made?

Now, that is a very nice sentiment, but let's be honest, that's all it is. It is a sentiment and it's not going to work.

I mean, this is me, this is not me being cavalier about how hard this must be for the Hawke's Bay peach growers who are losing their Wattie's contracts. For them, this must be absolutely devastating and I feel terrible for them.

But this is me being realistic about the prospect of any 'Buy New Zealand Made' campaign working.

Wattie's New Zealand peaches, according to Pak’nSave's online store, are $3.90 a can. Pam's cheap peaches are 99 cents a can. That's a no-brainer, you're gonna buy the 99 cent can.

Who is buying the $3.90 can? Grey Lynn? That makes no sense whatsoever.

I mean - look, maybe if I thought about it a little bit, which I don't, but if I did, maybe I would pay 10, 20 cents, 40 cents at a push, more for a New Zealand made product. But I would not pay four times as much, it's far too expensive.

And I wouldn't even do it in the first place because buying New Zealand made never works, does it? It never has. If it did, we would still be wearing Bata Bullets and buying Juliet Hogan and eating Sanitarium peanut butter.

We wouldn't be reading about the closure of manufacturing businesses every other month, which today, by the way, is the Carter Holt Harvey mill in Tokoroa.

I do the shopping in our house 90 percent of the time and I don't even know the provenance of the food I'm buying. I do not know where the canned food comes from, I absolutely do not know where the dried goods come from. And often, I'm not even really looking where the fresh fruit comes from.

Yep, I know where the meat comes from, but that's basically a given, isn't it?

It's simple economics, it always will be.

And even if Wattie's has this tiny little hope that there might be a last-minute public rally for the New Zealand grown peaches, I think they already know the outcome, which is why they've already cut the contracts.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
First of all, can I start by offering an apology
to TV and Z. I gave them a bit of
grief last night for starting the news bulletin with the peaches.
But it turns out I was wrong and they were right.
This has sparked a flurry of debate over whether we
prefer our Watti's peaches from Hawk's Bay, or whether we
don't really care if it comes from China or not.
It's also prompted a statement from what he's asking us

(00:21):
to support local growers. In other words, can we please
buy New Zealand maid Now that is a very nice sentiment,
but let's be honest. That's all it is. It is
a sentiment. It's not gonna work. I mean this is
This is not me being cavalier about how hard this
must be for the Hawks Bay peach growers who are
losing their what He's contracts for them. This must be
absolutely devastating, and I feel terrible for them. But this

(00:41):
is me being realistic about the prospect of any buy
New Zealand made campaign working. What is New Zealand peaches?
According to Pack and Save's online store, are three dollars
ninety a Can Pam's cheap peaches and ninety nine cents
a can. That's a no brainer. You're going to buy
the ninety nine cents can. Who is buying the three
dollars can? Who is buying just a gray linn? Who

(01:03):
is it? That makes no sense whatsoever? I mean, Look,
maybe if I thought about it a little bit, which
I don't, But if I did, maybe I would pay
ten twenty cents forty cents in a push more for
a New Zealand Maid product. But I would not pay
four times as much. It's far too expensive. And I
wouldn't even do it in the first place, because buy
New Zealand Maid never works, does it never has. If

(01:25):
it did, we would still be wearing butter bullets and
buying Juliet Hogan and eating Sanitarium peanut butter. We wouldn't
be reading about the closure of manufacturing businesses every other month,
which today, by the way, is the car to hold
Harvey Mill and talk it all. I do the shopping
in our house Ninety percent of the time. I don't
even know the provenance of the food I'm buying. I
do not know where the canned food comes from. I

(01:46):
absolutely do not know where the dried good dried goods
come from, and often I'm not even really looking where
the fresh fruit comes from. Yep, I know where the
meat comes from. But that's basically a given, isn't it.
It's simple economics. It always will be. And even if
What's you Know has this tiny little hope that there
might be a last minute public rally for the New
Zealand grown peachers, I think they already know the outcome,

(02:07):
which is why they've already cut the contract.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
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