Where is the grocery commissioner?

Tuesday, 18 April 2023

Work to appoint a grocery commissioner is underway.

Candidates for the role of grocery commissioner are being considered, a year after the idea was first mooted.

In its final report into the $22 billion grocery industry, released in March 2022, the Commerce Commission recommended the creation of an independent regulator to police the supermarket sector.

Three months later, Commerce Minister David Clark confirmed a grocery commissioner would be appointed to oversee supermarkets’ conduct and ramp up competition.

Grocery prices have continued to climb in the months since, with Stats NZ this week reporting the largest annual increase in food prices in more than 30 years.

**READ MORE:

The Government is creating the role of grocery commissioner in an attempt to better regulate supermarket rivals Countdown and Foodstuffs. (Video first published on July 7, 2022)

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On Monday, the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) confirmed work to appoint a grocery commissioner was under way.

MBIE director of small business, commerce and consumer policy, Alistair Dixon, said candidates for the position were being considered and, once interviews were completed, the ministry would recommend an appointee to Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Duncan Webb.

The Grocery Industry Competition Bill, currently awaiting its second reading in Parliament, establishes the role of grocery commissioner. The appointment was expected to be made as soon as possible after the bill was passed, Dixon said.

The commissioner would have extensive powers to monitor the grocery industry, ensuring operators complied with the law, and could take legal action in cases of non-compliance.

They could also require supermarkets to hand over information about profit margins on products, and make public recommendations to the Government if changes in competition were not happening.