ROSEMARY ABBOTT | Politics
PENNY WISE
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced plans for his Government to break up Foodstuffs, which owns New World and Pak ’n Save, in a bid to make supermarket prices cheap enough for ordinary Kiwis to finally experience the legendary $60 weekly grocery shop he claimed to manage himself.
During the 2023 leaders debate, Luxon claimed to have only spent $60 for his weekly grocery bill, much to the amusement of many New Zealanders who generally spend more than four times that.
Speaking to our reporters while wandering around a Pak’n Save, Luxon said the supermarket duopoly had made it unnecessarily difficult for ordinary New Zealanders to experience the same level of grocery affordability he enjoys.
“What I will say is what we’re doing here is making sure everyone can get their grocery bill down to where I said mine was,” Luxon said while looking at a very empty trolley.
“I’ve been saying for years that you can do a weekly shop for around $60, and clearly the supermarkets in this country haven’t been listening.”
Luxon believes that breaking up the country’s supermarket duopoly would create enough competition to bring grocery prices down to a level where more families could afford to purchase an entire week’s worth of food for roughly the price of a takeaway dinner.
“I want every shareholder of New Zealand to be able to walk into a supermarket, spend $60, and walk out knowing they’ve got everything they need for their family for the week.”
Luxon said he understood that some New Zealanders remained sceptical.
“Look, I get what Kiwis are saying, but what I will say is I think once we get the competition settings right, people will start to see what I’ve been saying for a long time. You can do your weekly grocery shop for only $60.”
More to come.
