Green madness - KiwiMart is a NONSENSE

The Green Party has unveiled one of the most interventionist economic policies seen in New Zealand for decades—spending $2.8 billion to establish a government-owned supermarket chain called KiwiMart.

The Greens would force Woolworths and Foodstuffs owners to sell 120 supermarkets and two distribution centres to the Crown for an estimated $1.3 billion, before injecting another $1.5 billion of taxpayers' money into the new business.

There is no question New Zealand needs greater grocery competition. But nationalising supermarkets is a remarkably expensive way of trying to achieve it.

If KiwiMart can compete commercially with Woolworths and Foodstuffs, why does the taxpayer need to own it? If it cannot, taxpayers will ultimately subsidise its losses.

Government would also become supermarket owner, regulator and competition-policy maker simultaneously—creating an obvious potential conflict.

And KiwiMart is only part of the Greens' announcement. Their wider food package carries a gross four-year cost of around $6.2 billion, including $2.25 billion for expanding and changing the school lunch programme.

New Zealand doesn't need politicians running the supermarkets. This is plain socialist (communist) nonsense.