PM Jacinda Ardern and Commerce and Consumer Affairs spokesperson Kris Faafoi took aim at the price of groceries and announced there will be a study into supermarket and building supply pricing. Video / Labour Party
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern says food prices are thought to be too high, but has stopped short of saying New Zealanders are being "fleeced" at the supermarket.
That was the language she had used in 2018 about gas prices - "consumers are being fleeced" - when talking up a new law allowing the Commerce Commission to launch a market study into fuel companies.
Ardern said the next industries the commission would look at - if Labour was re-elected - were supermarkets and building supplies, with studies into the fairness of prices starting by the end of the year.
It follows 3700 complaints about price-gouging during lockdown this year, including $13 for cauliflower.
Ardern would not be drawn on what cauliflower should cost at the supermarket.
"I'm not sure I want to get into the heated cauliflower debate ... kumara has also been hotly contested," she said while campaigning in Nelson today.
"You'll often hear people making a comparison between prices in New Zealand versus, say, Australia ... This is a chance to get beyond products and look at the whole market."
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern was gifted a flower at the entrance of the Pics factory in Nelson. Photo / Derek Cheng
According to the Consumer Price Index, food prices increased 4.2 per cent in the year ending August 2020 - with fruit and vegetable prices increasing by 19 per cent - while the Household Expenditure Survey showed a $19.70 increase in the weekly food bill in the last three years.
Labour added that research by the Productivity Hub suggested supermarkets had relatively high margins, while competition has weakened over time.
Supermarkets in New Zealand are dominated by Foodstuffs and Woolworths NZ (Countdown), which said it would fully cooperate with a market study.
A Countdown spokesperson said the market was "intensely competitive", affordable prices were front of mind, and there was a lot of consumer choice including specialty stores, fruit and vege shops and butchers.
Labour's commerce and consumer affairs spokesman Kris Faafoi said building supplies could be as much as 20 per cent of the cost of building a new house.
There are five major retailers, two companies control 85 per cent of the concrete supply, three companies control 85 per cent of the glass wool insulation supply, and one company controls 94 per cent of the plasterboard supply.
Ardern's day in Nelson followed last night's second leaders' debate, where she decided to be more aggressive.
"I always prefer we don't have to talk over each other to make a point, but ultimately it was a call between doing that or not getting a word in edgeways," she said today.
She made a number of commitments during the debate, including an independent inquiry into Pharmac.
She said she still had confidence in Pharmac, but there had been "consumer confidence just asking a couple of questions".
"I see no harm to building an understanding of how they make those decisions."
There was little indication of any disappointment in Ardern's debate performance as she walked through downtown Nelson today.
Shouts of greetings, adulation and gratitude surrounded her as her walkabout came to a standstill.
"Thanks for getting us through coronavirus," said one woman, as a man in a passing car yelled from the driver's seat, "Hi Jacinda, how are you?"
"My Mum will vote for you, you're nice," a young girl said, as if she felt burdened by being too young to vote herself.
"You're an inspiration to women everywhere," said Bronwyn Eriksson, owner of The Swedish Bakery and Cafe, as she gifted Ardern a baguette.
West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor on the bicycle-powered peanut grinder at the Pics factory in Nelson, as Jacinda Ardern looks on. Photo / Derek Cheng
When Ardern was eventually able to continue her stroll, Sarah Nyssen, of The Vibe Hair & Beauty, paused in the middle of her hair colouring to nab a selfie.
Ardern then turned a corner to wild cheering from 100-odd placard-waving Labour supporters, all wanting selfies and elbow-bumps.
Her entourage became passive bystanders; Faafoi had turned his talents to carrying a potted plant, another of the many gifts for Ardern.
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern was gifted a 2kg jar of Pics peanut butter during a visit to the Pics factory in Nelson. Photo / Derek Cheng
Ardern had earlier quipped that Faafoi was perhaps not the best choice to accompany a tour of Pics Peanut Butter World; he is allergic to peanuts.
Her own fondness for the spread had apparently been leaked to Pics, and she was gifted a signed 2kg jar.
"That's amazing," she said of the hefty jar. "I'll tell you how long it takes to finish it. I'll wager not that long."
That wasn't the only unexpected gem of her tour. As she sat down for a cup of tea, she ran into her old babysitter, Scott Elmiger, who had looked after her a few times when she was 7.
Elmiger claimed to have only faded memories of that time, but was adamant when asked if she had misbehaved in any way: "Absolutely not."
The tour included a bicycle-powered peanut grinder, which was eagerly mounted by West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor - following reluctance from Ardern.
She also visited Do Gooder, which sell biodegradable cotton buds among other eco-friendly items.
There had been some conjecture about the impact of Labour's wish to phase out single-use plastic cotton buds on the nation's aural hygiene and general cleanliness.
As if to make a point that there are alternatives, Ardern searched out the journalist who had allegedly spoken of such concerns: "Wasn't it you who was worried about this?"
