95bFM Protestors call to tax excess profits made by Aotearoa’s supermarket duopoly
21 July, 2023
Interview by Ashley-Rose Redstone
Advocacy group ActionStation protested outside supermarkets across the country this week, calling for corporations to contribute fairly to our tax system. Photo: ActionStation Aotearoa.
On Wednesday, protestors from ActionStation Aotearoa gathered outside supermarkets nationwide in response to rising supermarket prices as a part of their campaign to increase tax on corporate profits.
This comes after the Commerce Commission found last year that large supermarket chains in Aotearoa are bringing in $430 million in excess profits a year, which is more than $1 million a day.
Demonstrations took place across the motu in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Hauraki.
95bFM reporter Ashley-Rose Redstone spoke to ActionStation Campaigner Max Harris at the protest outside New World Metro on Queen Street in Auckland’s CBD, who said we have not only a cost of living crisis but a “rising profits crisis”.
“We all need an economy where everyone is thriving, and at the moment, some corporations such as supermarkets, are making megaprofits.”
In their campaign, ActionStation states that corporations should have to contribute fairly to our tax system and that this would mean our public services and infrastructure are better funded.
"This looks like well-staffed hospitals that can provide medical care to our whānau when we need it. It looks like teachers who feel valued so they can contribute to thriving schools, kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa, and early childcare where our children can receive a quality education. It looks like more public housing that can offer a stable roof over our heads."
The government recently appointed a new Grocery Commissioner to regulate the supermarket industry — which is currently a duopoly with Foodstuffs and Woolworths NZ.
Harris acknowledges that this is a good step by the government, but isn’t tackling the full issue.
“We’d like to see the government go further.”
“This goes beyond just setting up a grocery commissioner, to making sure that some of those profits go back into the public services that we all rely on.”
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
