Latest / Best of Business / Nicola Willis: Finance Minister on the new legislation set to fast-track new supermarkets for NZ

Transcript

Nicola Willis: Finance Minister on the new legislation set to fast-track new supermarkets for NZ · Best of Business

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  Speaker 2: Afternoon.
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  Speaker 3: The Government's made its long awaited supermarket announcement. It's cutting
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  Speaker 3: red tape for any potential new supermarket entrants who want
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  Speaker 3: to set up here. Consent processes will be made easier
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  Speaker 3: and supermarkets will qualify to be fast trapped through the
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  Speaker 3: approvals process.
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  Speaker 2: Finance Minister Nichola Willis is with us Nikola, Hello, hid
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  Speaker 2: So is it the case that they will apply for
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  Speaker 2: one consent for all of their shops? Is that how
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  Speaker 2: it works?
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  Speaker 4: Well, they could apply for one at a time, or
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  Speaker 4: they could apply for many at a time. Over to them.
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  Speaker 4: Of course, the more the better, is what I say.
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  Speaker 2: But is it one consent that will apply for all
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  Speaker 2: of the stores rather than one consent personal.
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  Speaker 4: For the resource consent they will apply for each project
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  Speaker 4: for the building consent process. What we're creating is a
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  Speaker 4: new multiproof line, which will mean that they can get
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  Speaker 4: one pre approved consent for all of the buildings they
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  Speaker 4: might want to do across the country and then go
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  Speaker 4: to one building consent authority that can consent them no
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  Speaker 4: matter where they are in the country, instead of having
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  Speaker 4: to go to the one of the sixty eight different
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  Speaker 4: territorial authorities who currently run Bespoke in byzantine consenting processes.
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  Speaker 4: They can have one fast track.
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  Speaker 2: So at the moment it takes about four years to
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  Speaker 2: set up a store, how long how much shorter do
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  Speaker 2: you anticipate this will be?
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  Speaker 4: Well, for four years is at the outer length of
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  Speaker 4: what we've heard about. We're advise that this will reduce
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  Speaker 4: the process to a matter of months rather than years.
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  Speaker 4: And actually it's about as fast as these people want
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  Speaker 4: to go. So if they're investment ready they can apply
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  Speaker 4: for fast track, that process will run very quickly, and
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  Speaker 4: they can also at the same time apply for these
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  Speaker 4: streamlined building consents, which means that really it's just a
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  Speaker 4: matter of how quickly they can build.
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  Speaker 2: Is this basically aimed at Costco.
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  Speaker 4: Well, it's aimed at anyone who is looking at New
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  Speaker 4: Zealand saying yeah, we think there's a market opportunity there,
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  Speaker 4: but gosh, it all looks a bit complicated, looks a
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  Speaker 4: bit hard, don't know what the processes might take forever,
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  Speaker 4: will be really expensive. Ed. Yes, we've tested it with
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  Speaker 4: Costco because we thought it was pretty important to talk
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  Speaker 4: to someone who's already been through the process and can
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  Speaker 4: tell us would this shift the dial? And they have
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  Speaker 4: confirmed for us that yes, this would shift the dial.
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  Speaker 4: They've also confirmed for us that they are considering opening
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  Speaker 4: news stores in New Zealand over the next four years
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  Speaker 4: and that changes like that support it.
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  Speaker 2: How are you going to crack down on predatory pricing?
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  Speaker 4: So predatory pricing is something that's not allowed on the
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  Speaker 4: Commerce Act currently, but there have only been two successful
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  Speaker 4: prosecutions in New Zealand since the nineties, and that's because
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  Speaker 4: our Commerce Act is basically our of date with what
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  Speaker 4: countries around the world now have. They have a specific
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  Speaker 4: economic impact test in law, so that everyone's clear about
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  Speaker 4: where the line is. So we're essentially going to borrow
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  Speaker 4: with pride and do what other countries around the world
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  Speaker 4: have already done in their Commerce Act and put those
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  Speaker 4: new provisions in so it's crystal clear. It makes prosecutions
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  Speaker 4: easier and makes everyone aware of where the boundaries are,
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  Speaker 4: because what we don't want to see is a great
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  Speaker 4: new entrant coming into the market and getting stamped on
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  Speaker 4: by the incumbents who are trying to squeeze them out.
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  Speaker 4: We need to stop that from happening.
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  Speaker 2: Are you still considering breaking up the duopoly?
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  Speaker 4: Well, I'm still going through a thorough process to assess
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  Speaker 4: the risks of that, the costs of that, and how
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  Speaker 4: that measures up against the benefits consumers would get on
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  Speaker 4: the other side. Because there are arguments on both sides here.
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  Speaker 4: I hear all of those who say, oh gosh, you
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  Speaker 4: know that there would be problems with that. Equally, there
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  Speaker 4: could be significant advantages from that, So I'm taking a
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  Speaker 4: very thorough process. This would be a really significant intervention,
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  Speaker 4: so it's not something that the government takes lightly, and
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  Speaker 4: I'm continuing analysis of those options.
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  Speaker 2: Likely. Have you caught up on the latest with Port
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  Speaker 2: of Todunger.
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  Speaker 1: No?
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  Speaker 4: I have not.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, Port of Todung is urging the government to act
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  Speaker 2: quickly and rectify the wording in the fast track legislation
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  Speaker 2: to resolve the situation because they have had excuse me,
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  Speaker 2: their fast track application put on hold after a judicial review.
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  Speaker 4: Yes, I am aware of that matter. I won't speak
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  Speaker 4: about matters before the courts, but what I can confirm
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  Speaker 4: is that when the government introduces this fast track measure
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  Speaker 4: for supermarkets, we will at the same time take the
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  Speaker 4: opportunity to take a few remedial measures on the underlying
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  Speaker 4: fast track legislation to make sure it's working as well
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  Speaker 4: as possible.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, good stuff. Hey, thanks very much, Nicola Willi's Finance
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  Speaker 2: Minstop for.
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