Foodstuffs and Woolworths would be forced to sell 120 stores and two distribution centres into public ownership which would require new legislation, Swarbrick said.
This is the part of the plan I don’t like. Forcing a company to sell assets just so you can compete against them is kinda rotten.
I do like the idea of a state owned supermarket though.
I’m a long-time Green voter but I don’t like that this policy compels the selling of supermarkets. Private business should remain private business and I don’t think the current situation quite deserves a 90s-Microsoft level intervention.
I do like the idea of a nationalised supermarket. Kiwibank works well as an NZ alternative to the big Aussie banks. A state-owned supermarket with a mandate to keep margins to a certain level would be good, I think. Set up a few supermarkets in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Whangarei to start and see how it goes.
See, this is why Opportunity, a party that has never been in parliament, isn’t that far behind the Green party in some polls.
They start with a good idea, and then take it to the point of absurdity. Rather than just saying we will have a state owned supermarket, which is a good idea, and not really that different from the existing state owned enterprises we already have, they then say they will simply nationalise part of an existing business to get this started.
This is the part of the plan I don’t like. Forcing a company to sell assets just so you can compete against them is kinda rotten.
I do like the idea of a state owned supermarket though.
I’m a long-time Green voter but I don’t like that this policy compels the selling of supermarkets. Private business should remain private business and I don’t think the current situation quite deserves a 90s-Microsoft level intervention.
I do like the idea of a nationalised supermarket. Kiwibank works well as an NZ alternative to the big Aussie banks. A state-owned supermarket with a mandate to keep margins to a certain level would be good, I think. Set up a few supermarkets in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Whangarei to start and see how it goes.
Think of it as a compromise, compared to full nationalization.
See, this is why Opportunity, a party that has never been in parliament, isn’t that far behind the Green party in some polls.
They start with a good idea, and then take it to the point of absurdity. Rather than just saying we will have a state owned supermarket, which is a good idea, and not really that different from the existing state owned enterprises we already have, they then say they will simply nationalise part of an existing business to get this started.
They just can’t help themselves.
I hope Opportunity get in, it’d be good to have some different voices for a change.