Latest / Best of Business / Azaria Howell: Newstalk ZB reporter on the Government unveiling a solution to boost supermarket competition

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Azaria Howell: Newstalk ZB reporter on the Government unveiling a solution to boost supermarket competition · Best of Business

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from Newstalk SEDB. Follow this
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Big News Today. Moves have been announced on challenging the
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  Speaker 2: supermarket duopoly. The government says it will remove barriers preventing
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  Speaker 2: competitive supermarkets from launching or expanding in New Zealand. Senior
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  Speaker 2: political reporter Azaria Howe has been at that media conference
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  Speaker 2: and she joins us now afternoon, Azaria afternoon, good to
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  Speaker 2: be with you. Yeah, thanks for joining us once again.
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  Speaker 2: So break it all down for us.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, So, Nikola Willis already sort of before this announcement
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  Speaker 3: admitted it wouldn't be a silver bullet, but she does
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  Speaker 3: say the government's been looking at red tape and regulation
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  Speaker 3: in this sort of space. So the big headline of
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  Speaker 3: this really supermarkets will be up for being fast tracked
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  Speaker 3: if they can improve either regional or national competition. This
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  Speaker 3: comes back from the government's request for information basically found
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  Speaker 3: advice from different supermarket players across the country and the
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  Speaker 3: world that there's too much red tape, regulation, stops and
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  Speaker 3: things preventing people from actually wanting to set up a supermarket.
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  Speaker 4: Here is that what's been stopping people.
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  Speaker 3: That's what they the people who have responded to that
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  Speaker 3: request for information as saying. They say the government's saying
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  Speaker 3: legislation is set to be introduced in November and past
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  Speaker 3: this year.
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  Speaker 2: So those current barriers, I mean, did she mention specifically
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  Speaker 2: what those barriers are? Clearly they're changing that legislation. But
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  Speaker 2: is it just down to policy or are there other
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  Speaker 2: barriers here? Competition? You know that talk about land banking.
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  Speaker 2: Does that all come into it as well? As are
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  Speaker 2: you Yeah?
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  Speaker 3: I think one of the main things was this issue
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  Speaker 3: of consenting. Finance Minister Nikola Willis said it can take
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  Speaker 3: years and also millions of dollars to set up a supermarket,
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  Speaker 3: but she's now saying she wants it to be a
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  Speaker 3: matter of months and the government's also looking to put
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  Speaker 3: that consenting down to one single authority, So that seems
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  Speaker 3: like the big one in terms of their responses back.
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  Speaker 3: Nicola Willis was also asked well does the New Zealand
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  Speaker 3: economy and the relative slowness of it come into effect?
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  Speaker 3: She said, not really as much in terms of compared
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  Speaker 3: to these regulatory issues that we're seeing.
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  Speaker 4: So is she talking about here a chain and is
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  Speaker 4: anyone interested as an international chain or just set up
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  Speaker 4: a supermarket. Yes, so just a major part a single
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  Speaker 4: operator setting up a super market in competition, say you
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  Speaker 4: know in a suburb.
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  Speaker 3: A major part of this. And as an Aucklander you
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  Speaker 3: might be aware with the West Auckland Costco. The government
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  Speaker 3: has been in talks with Costco for potentially more shops
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  Speaker 3: in New Zealand. Now this comes after that West Aukland
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  Speaker 3: Costco has had quite some success in terms of bringing
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  Speaker 3: people from a cross Auckland. When I was in Auckland,
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  Speaker 3: I actually visited it as well, so it is sort
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  Speaker 3: of attracting new customers. Finance Minister Nikola willis really hoping
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  Speaker 3: this one will bring downward pressure on prices, essentially to
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  Speaker 3: ease the cost of living. But there's been a bit
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  Speaker 3: of disappointment as well from the government. They thought Aldi
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  Speaker 3: and Little would be interested in that request for information.
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  Speaker 3: They did not partake in that. But there is sort
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  Speaker 3: of a glimmer of hope with Costco.
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  Speaker 2: What does that say when the likes of Aldi and
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  Speaker 2: you mentioned another outfit there they're not interested in that information?
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  Speaker 2: I mean, does that say that they cannot see profitability
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  Speaker 2: in this market even with those levers that have been pulled.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, well Nikola Willis. Her response to that really was
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  Speaker 3: we now have a welcome Matt. We're sort of saying
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  Speaker 3: that we can potentially put supermarkets forward to fast track them.
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  Speaker 3: And really her message to Aldi and Little and those
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  Speaker 3: companies that didn't take place is everyone should give New
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  Speaker 3: Zealand another look. So really hoping that they do actually
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  Speaker 3: take a look at that. But I mean, in terms
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  Speaker 3: of the costco option, it seems much more on the
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  Speaker 3: table than any other company.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah right, okay, some red take being removed.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: It's interesting though, because you'd think, with how much we've
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  Speaker 4: been talking about it, you think that the amount of
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  Speaker 4: profits was so huge from supermarkets that businesses would be
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  Speaker 4: kicking down the doors to get in. But it doesn't
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  Speaker 4: seem to be the case.
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  Speaker 2: No, exactly. Yeah, Azariah, thank you very much for that breakdown.
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  Speaker 2: Really appreciate it. We'll chat again tomorrow.
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  Speaker 1: Cheers for more from News Talk st B. Listen live
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