Politics 🗳️ NZ Politics

[Rick O’Shay]

A lot of supermarket price increases are secretive and involve packaging size. Anyone noticed how meat packaging for example has gone from 500g to 400g but remains around the same price. I've also noticed a number of items that were once in kilo packs only available in 800g.

 

[John Nick]

A lot of supermarket price increases are secretive and involve packaging size. Anyone noticed how meat packaging for example has gone from 500g to 400g but remains around the same price. I've also noticed a number of items that were once in kilo packs only available in 800g.

Packets of 15 chocolates are now 12 chocolates.
Maybe I should have posted in the Weight thread

 

[Inruin]

A lot of supermarket price increases are secretive and involve packaging size. Anyone noticed how meat packaging for example has gone from 500g to 400g but remains around the same price. I've also noticed a number of items that were once in kilo packs only available in 800g.

I don't know if it's secretive, but a lot of times it's to achieve an ultimate price point rather than deceive consumers.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Packets of 15 chocolates are now 12 chocolates.
Maybe I should have posted in the Weight thread

Can $150 speeding fines now be $120?

100kph roads are now 80kph so…

 

[John Nick]

Can $150 speeding fines now be $120?

100kph roads are now 80kph so…

Do you mean on Rocky Roads.

 

[miket12]

Do you mean on Rocky Roads.

The faster the speed, the bigger the mess..... the lower the speed, the less damage when you hit a tire shredding pot hole..... it's all part of the road to zero strategy

 

[Evil_Mush]

To paraphrase Matthew McConaughey... "That's what I HATE about these COST OF LIVING CRISES, man. PRICES get HIGHER, I stay on the saaame WAAAAGE"

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Interesting commentary on a blog that popped up on Facebook:

‘The total demolition of the Labour Party by the voters extinguished Arderns legacy – it was quite clear that Arderns NZ was not the NZ we wanted.

Hipkins crocodile tears on the election night stage was just embarrassing… Hipkins was every bit a part of the Ardern era, and his tears were ones of dread knowing he had been found out, and, that once a new government was formed, his parties dirty deeds and inept management were going to be laid bare for all of NZ to see.

The coming Covid enquiry will open NZ’s eyes to what has really gone on, and it does not look pretty. It wont be the legacy Ardern wanted.

The coming opening of the countries books, and the confirmation of the fiscal mess left by the utterly incompetent Labour Party will see that kiwis for years, if not generations to come, will realise that the foundations that were laid were, in 3 short years decimated by those with an agenda that was never an elected one.

Goodbye Labour – we suspect your party is about to fall apart.’

Ardern is a lightning rod for anger in some quarters. Hopefully the public can move on from her divisive politics into a new era.

 

[Noitall]

Ardern is a lightning rod for anger in some quarters. Hopefully the public can move on from her divisive politics into a new era.

'If Luxon rules it out … then we rule it in' - Seymour

OPINION: Act tells National, these are OUR bottom lines

www.nzherald.co.nz

Not sure if you see this as divisive, I do. Hope Luxon stays opposed, I think it would be bad for NZ socially.

 

[John Nick]

'If Luxon rules it out … then we rule it in' - Seymour

OPINION: Act tells National, these are OUR bottom lines

www.nzherald.co.nz

Not sure if you see this as divisive, I do. Hope Luxon stays opposed, I think it would be bad for NZ socially.

"You ain't seen nothing yet " springs to mind...

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

'If Luxon rules it out … then we rule it in' - Seymour

OPINION: Act tells National, these are OUR bottom lines

www.nzherald.co.nz

Not sure if you see this as divisive, I do. Hope Luxon stays opposed, I think it would be bad for NZ socially.

I don’t see much good coming from it.

I think luxon will allow a referendum but the wording of the referendum question will be so watered down to effectively be meaningless.

 

[John Nick]

I don’t see much good coming from it.

I think luxon will allow a referendum but the wording of the referendum question will be so watered down to effectively be meaningless.

Throw Winnie into the equation and make what you want..

 

[Worried2Death]

Throw Winnie into the equation and make what you want..

It's still hard to see Winnie and Seymour being able to work together. Luxon looks like a moderate voice of reason next to those two.

 

[John Nick]

It's still hard to see Winnie and Seymour being able to work together. Luxon looks like a moderate voice of reason next to those two.

Interesting times ahead.
Especially for a PM who's political greenhorn.

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Interesting commentary on a blog that popped up on Facebook:

‘The total demolition of the Labour Party by the voters extinguished Arderns legacy – it was quite clear that Arderns NZ was not the NZ we wanted.

Hipkins crocodile tears on the election night stage was just embarrassing… Hipkins was every bit a part of the Ardern era, and his tears were ones of dread knowing he had been found out, and, that once a new government was formed, his parties dirty deeds and inept management were going to be laid bare for all of NZ to see.

The coming Covid enquiry will open NZ’s eyes to what has really gone on, and it does not look pretty. It wont be the legacy Ardern wanted.

The coming opening of the countries books, and the confirmation of the fiscal mess left by the utterly incompetent Labour Party will see that kiwis for years, if not generations to come, will realise that the foundations that were laid were, in 3 short years decimated by those with an agenda that was never an elected one.

Goodbye Labour – we suspect your party is about to fall apart.’

Ardern is a lightning rod for anger in some quarters. Hopefully the public can move on from her divisive politics into a new era.

You can literally swap out any leader and political party and this would read the same.

 

[snake77]

You can literally swap out any leader and political party and this would read the same.

Or for me closer to home in Auckland. The same can be said about any ex Auckland Mayor.

Like the country as a whole we have a lot of big talking Mayors who will make a difference and then move on. Sure they can be voted out but a lot decide to not run again. Probably seen the writing on the wall or a better job comes along.

 

[John Nick]

You can literally swap out any leader and political party and this would read the same.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

We had the local surf lifesaving club fundraising along the main road into Mount Maunganui. The old fashion bucket out for spare cash at the side of the road sort of thing.

Except they had traffic management there, cones everywhere, temporary road work signage slowing everyone down to 30.

H and S gone mad. If the traffic management people haven’t donated their time it’s probably cost more to pay them than they made.

Cut the red tape National!

 

[Matiunz]

A few thoughts or observations on this.

- if a product is affected by something that impacts supply then price generally will go up. So, if a product like Kumara is hit with flooding which wipes out a big chunk of the crop, unfortunately the price going up is the result. It eases demand for that product (and shifts some of that demand to other products) so that it is more often available on the shelf for consumers instead of continually being out of stock.

- meat has risen significantly in recent times and sausages are made of meat so not a surprise they have gone up in price also. Add in wage increases, fuel increases etc

- shopping at specialty stores is a good thing isn't it? Generally I find fresher, better quality fruit and veges at my local fruitworld at a similar or cheaper price. Competition is good. People complain about the duopoly of the supermarkets yet complain about there being other cheaper options too? You want cheap, quality and convenience? Are we too spoilt and in the habit of shopping at supermarkets now that we want it all? I actually think this could be the resurgence of smaller, specialty, community retailers which would be a good thing

- most price rises over the last 12 - 18 months have been warranted due to increased costs. However some have been affected by short term issues like the CO2 shortage earlier this year and not been bought back down again as far as they initially were

- if prices of goods have gone up then it's obvious that clearance prices will be higher too, in proportion with the rises

- I think the commerce commission review has caused the opposite affect of what it was intended for in regards to pricing. Supermarkets have in some instances lifted everyday shelf prices higher so that specials reflect a good percentage saving so as not to 'mislead' customers. This means they will be paying more when it's not on promotion but the same as they would normally have when it is on promotion. Also the rules around communicating specials in stores have changed, often actually making it more difficult to promote them. The extra work involved in securing a one off deal often doesn't make it worthwhile to do. Also, Foodstuffs switching to a more controlled, centralized model will limit some individual stores being able to offer their customers some promotions unique to them, costing consumers. The 'rules' being implemented, IMO, may be fine for ambient grocery lines like weetbix or biscuits, but aren't suitable for more commodity type categories like fruit & vege, and meat where costs can be variable from week to week.

- different retailers have different costs of doing business and different margin expectations. Countdown for example have polished floors, better lighting, more range etc. Their pricing generally aligns with New World, and Pak n Save is targeted to be 10% -15% cheaper. I know of a number of suppliers products where New World and Pak n Save have lifted their pricing and banking the extra margin despite having a cost and retail price that meets their margin expectations, because Countdown are selling at a slightly higher price. So, for example if New World had a product they were retailing at $5.00 and promoting at $4.00 (with Pak n Save under that by the 10% - 15% target) but Countdown was retailing at $5.50 and promoting to $4.50 then New World have lifted to match and Pak n Save also relative to it. Instead of having competition in the market forcing countdown to drop it's price. This is where a third and fourth player is required to keep the duopoly honest.

So in summary, a lot of the price rises you see are warranted but their are also others that aren't and f0r a number of factors. IMO we should still have cheaper grocery items in a number of instances than we have currently despite the real increases in costs.

I work in the industry in Aus and the margins are pretty low it’s all about volume. The supermarkets are on a bit of a hiding to nothing - prices too high and they cop it from customers, to get prices lower they have to pay the suppliers less- which they then cop it for that.
Heap of outside factors at the moment with the likes of Ukraine/ now Israel has massive supply chain ramifications.
Did notice on my last trip to NZ there were a few crazy examples of paying up to double for the exact same product & brand.
Part of it is obviously the buying power of the big 2 in Aus but the way it’s set up Coles and Woollies are extremely price competitive and are in the main centres, IGA are independently owned but tend to be more a smaller store in your local suburb but with a more diverse range- but you pay extra for it.
NZ was the low- high model (park n save- Countdown- New World) but this led to more blurred lines in pricing models.
Was shocked at a few other things at what NZ pays, my Daughter wanted a toy- was $45 in the warehouse, $15 in big W. Went to buy a book $32 nz, $18 Aus

 

[MrFrankWhite]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

Hindsight?!? You think NZ politics is somehow exempt from all the philosophical writings on the democratic process? Especially the writings on two party political states. Its foresight. Its as predictable as the sunrise. Unless you think that Christopher "Dinosaurs Dont Exist" Luxon is some savvy political operator?!?

3 Pendulum Democracy: The Winner Takes All

Abstract. Pendulum democracy refers to the model of democracy in which political power alternates between two competing political parties or protagonists.

academic.oup.com