Policy round-up: Supermarkets, screens, farming fun, and a ‘bold shift’ in health

The useful part

This weekend, Labour revealed its plan to increase grocery competition by targeting the wholesale side of the market. Chris Hipkins said the difficulty even The Warehouse had faced in accessing wholesale showed change was needed, pointing to small businesses around the country that want to compete but can't get the supply to do it. Commerce and consumer affairs spokesperson Arena Williams, announcing the policy at an Upper Hutt grocer, said Labour wanted wholesalers to behave like any other business and compete to win retail customers.

How it works

• She said Labour was announcing an intervention first and working out the con...
• National is campaigning on splitting Foodstuffs, subject to a Commerce Commission review.

Details worth keeping

To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Nicola Willis said Labour's plan was light on detail, pointing to a 2022 commission market study that found separating wholesale and retail operations was not necessary or desirable, and to a later independent assessment that called wholesale ownership separation fundamentally flawed.