Greens promise to nationalise 120 supermarkets, costing $2.8 billion
The Green Party is promising to nationalise 120 Woolworths and Foodstuffs supermarkets to create a new Government-owned supermarket, KiwiMart, if elected.
The Greens say the Parliamentary Library costed the policy at $2.8 billion, comprising the cost of nationalising 120 stores and two distribution centres at $1.3b, with a further $1.5b to capitalise KiwiMart as a commercially viable competitor. KiwiMart would have a mandate to prioritise affordability.
Green Party co-leaders Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson announced the policy this morning in Auckland, saying it would help break up the power of the supermarket duopoly. The Green Party would create its supermarket chain by forcing the sale of 120 stores to the Government.
“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,” Swarbrick said.
“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.”
In 2021, the Commerce Commission’s market study into the grocery sector draft report suggested a Government-backed new supermarket chain might be an option to increase competition – although the final report, published a year later, did not recommend it.
Overseas, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is a popular figure in the global progressive movement, ran on a platform of establishing publicly owned grocery stores in the city. The first stores are set to open late next year.
KiwiMart was one of several in the Greens’ wider policy targeting food affordability.
Other policies included a bill to ban excessive pricing at supermarkets, which could be extended to other sectors like energy and fuel; increasing funding for the Commerce Commission and hiking penalties for firms; a National Food strategy that would include legislating people’s right to “adequate and nutritious food”, establishing a $150 million a year “Fair Food Fund” for community foodbanks and expanding the school lunches programme, Ka Ora Ka Ako to 150,000 more children.
Co-leader Davidson said the Greens would also revert to the old school lunches model with locally made meals that had high nutritional value. The cost of expanding the programme and reverting to the old model would be $2.2b over the four-year forecast period.
“One in five children in this country live in a household that runs out of food. The Luxon Government’s response was to cut what it spends on a child’s lunch, hand the job to a handful of big companies, and destroy up to 2000 local jobs doing it,” Davidson said.
“Half of those lunches now fail to meet nutrition standards. Children who miss meals are two to four years behind their classmates in maths, reading and science. We will restore Ka Ora, Ka Ako, put it back in the hands of schools and local providers and expand it so 150,000 more tamariki [children] get a decent lunch every day,” she said.
The total cost over four years for the plan was about $6.2b.
Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you
Get the iHeart App
Get more of the radio, music and podcasts you love with the FREE iHeart app. Scan the QR code to download now.
Download from the app stores
Stream unlimited music, thousands of radio stations and podcasts all in one app. iHeart is easy to use and all FREE
