New Zealand Green Party supermarket regulation proposals

The New Zealand Green Party has introduced legislative and policy measures aimed at addressing the supermarket duopoly and rising grocery costs.

Initially, the party introduced the Commerce (Excessive Pricing in Retail Grocery Industry) Amendment Bill. This legislation seeks to prohibit supermarkets from charging prices that are excessive relative to supply costs plus a reasonable margin. The bill proposes significant penalties for violations, including fines of up to NZD 10 million, three times the commercial gain, or 10 percent of turnover.

Following this, the party expanded its platform with the ‘Affordable Kai’ policy, which proposes the creation of a state-owned supermarket chain named ‘KiwiMart’. This plan involves requiring the sale of at least 120 existing stores and transferring distribution centre capacity to public ownership to increase competition. Industry groups have noted that addressing distribution infrastructure may provide a clearer pathway to cheaper groceries. The Green Party also intends to extend price gouging bans to the energy and fuel industries while increasing the powers and funding of the Commerce Commission.