Briefly in my Picks ‘n Mixes and Daily Chorus on Thursday August 28, the top news, scoops and deep-dives in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate are:

* The Lead: Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis decided yesterday not to pursue a structural separation of the supermarkets duopoly, opting instead to bring supermarkets into the fast-track regime and hope that the likes of Costco chooses to expand beyond West Auckland. However, Costco was consented for a Christchurch store in 2022, but has yet to launch in the South Island. Aldi, Lidl and other international groups showed no interest in Willis’ plea for new competitors to join.

* The Sidebar: The tale continues to wag the dog. ACT Leader and Deputy Prime Minister welcomed the decision not to pursue the ‘regulatory over-reach’ of a breakup of the supermarkets, saying removing ‘red tape’ would foster competition.

* The Quote of the Day is from Grocery Action Group chairperson Sue Chetwin, who said only structural separation would deliver meaningful improvements for shoppers quickly.

* The Chart of the day shows the Earnings Before Interest and Tax profit margins of Foodstuffs South Island and Foodstuffs North Island in 2024 were 6% and 7% respectively, which is around double that of international chains such as Tesco and Sainsbury.

* The Scoop of the day is this deep-dive by Kirsty Johnson for RNZ: Workplace safety reforms risk another Pike River, officials warned

* My Deep-Dives of the day are from Amy Williams for RNZ: Boarding house evicts 26 people with two days' notice, and from Bella Craig for RNZ: Damp houses, high rent, no jobs - students resorting to sleeping rough

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Quote of the day: ‘Tell em they’re dreaming’

“Breaking up this entrenched duopoly is the single most effective course of action if New Zealanders are to see lower prices at the checkout, and to see them quickly. Meaningful, enforceable structural changes — alongside streamlined planning processes for newcomers — are the only way to ensure genuine competition, fair pricing, fair treatment of suppliers and a thriving, accessible supermarket sector for all New Zealanders.” Grocery Action Group chairperson Sue Chetwin via 1News

Chart of the day: Twice as profitable

Number of the day: Incomes flat for first time since 2010*

Picks n’ Mixes for Thursday, August 28

Scoops & Breaking news this morning

* Anna Whyte for The Post-$: Major public service reshape afoot. The Post understands a major reshape of the public service is under consideration, which would significantly reduce the number of agencies and departments, possibly by as much as by half to 20 ministries.

* Shilpy Arora Gaikwad & Caroline Williams for Stuff: ‘Heartbreaking’: Renovated Kāinga Ora house in ‘prime’ location empty for almost 18 months. Two-bedroom home has sat vacant “because of legal proceedings” amid spike in homelessness.

* Russell Palmer for RNZ: Health NZ invited specific providers to join GP service, documents show

* Liam Dann for NZ Herald:‘Deeply uncomfortable’ - Westpac CEO on $2.4m salary made public

* Laura Walters for Newsroom Pro-$ (free from tomorrow): Principals plead for Govt to stop ‘politically driven’ NCEA replacement Erica Stanford’s not for turning, saying the judgement of the unhappy principals – mostly from low socioeconomic schools – is marred by their ‘PTSD’ from the unmitigated disaster of previous changes.

* Marc Daalder for Newsroom Pro-$ (free from tomorrow): Judge weighs unprecedented Treaty action on Māori Health Authority abolition A High Court case on the dissolution of the Māori Health Authority could have constitutional ramifications for Treaty of Waitangi law

Hot topics in the last day

Willis backs away from breaking up grocery duopoly

* Column by Luke Malpass for The Post-$: Nicola Willis makes the supermarket changes she can. The Economic Growth Minister’s supermarket changes are a nod to coalition Government numbers, and what’s politically realistic rather than optimal.

* Tom Pullar-Strecker for The Post-$: Nicola Willis keeps supermarket break-up in back pocket for now. No ‘D-day’ for Foodstuffs and Woolworths as Willis holds fire on forced divestment in favour of smaller changes to improve competition.

* Analysis by Glenn McConnell for Stuff: Why didn’t Costco expand out of Auckland? That’s the question as Nicola Willis woos supermarkets.

* Mandy Te for Interest: 'What we're saying is a big fat yes to new supermarkets'

* Giles Dexter for RNZ: Watch: 'Express lane' for new supermarkets that could boost competition

New Business Investor Visa

* Mandy Te for Interest: NZ still open to business as Government brings in Business Investor Visa ‘Small, niche category’: Immigration Minister says there could potentially be 100 to 150 applicants in the first year as Government introduces new Business Investor Visa

* Gill Bonnett for RNZ: 'Sensible': New visa for business investors tailor made for baby boomers

* Bridie Witton for Stuff: Will new million-dollar investment visa grow the economy? Erica Stanford thinks so Stanford announced a new business investor visa to replace the entrepreneur work visa, taking effect from November.

The Best of the Rest

Politics & Geopolitics

* Column by Janet Wilson for The Post-$: A policy of defiance looks set to land with a whimper. There are several contenders for worst Government policy this term, but a clear winner plumbs the depths: Local Water Done Well.

* Ethan Manera for NZ Herald-$: 'Desperate to deflect responsibility': Mayor fires back at Willis in economic blame game

* Jamie Ensor for NZ Herald: ‘Shocked’: Email shows RBNZ warned Treasury it could ‘destroy goodwill’ by releasing info

* NZ Herald: Finance Minister Nicola Willis on Reserve Bank Chair Neil Quigley's OIA email

* Column by Audrey Young for NZ Herald-$: Judge says Waitangi Tribunal is 'Rolls Royce' arbiter on Treaty

* Susan Edmunds for RNZ: Accountants divided on IRD information-gathering power repeal

Economy, Business, Media & Tech

* Column by Tony Alexander for OneRoof: Odds of a U-turn on mortgage rates are growing. The Reserve Bank will almost certainly raise the OCR in the near future - and the markets know it.

* Anne Gibson for NZ Herald-$: Auckland CBD retail area has 13% vacancy rate, the highest percentage of empty shops in NZ

* Deep-dive by Amanda Gillies for RNZ/Newsroom’s The Detail: Cruise industry jumps ship on New Zealand

* Op-Ed by Paul Thompson for RNZ: Next steps for RNZ in ever-changing media landscape

* The Post-$: Fortune Favours pub closing with ‘heavy hearts’. Shannon Thorpe opened his brewery one of the capital's most vibrant laneways. Now, after eight years, the cost of living crisis has proven too difficult to navigate.

* Rob Stock for The Post-$: NZ supplier falls afoul of Woolworths ‘modern slavery’ audit. The revelation comes in a report compiled by the Australian-owned grocer as it attempts to get ‘modern slavery’ out of our shopping baskets.

Housing, Transport & Infrastructure

* Analysis by Dileepa Fonseka for BusinessDesk-$: How rising house prices hurt productivity

* Analysis by David Chaston for Interest: The big get bigger in the mortgage market

* David Chaston for Interest: Three down, two to go Our largest home loan lender ANZ has now responded to the Westpac and BNZ fixed rate moves lower with their own mortgage rate cuts, leaving ASB and Kiwibank as the other majors yet to respond

* Susan Edmunds for RNZ: Are lower house prices really bad for the economy?

* Alisha Evans for LDR via NZ Herald: Major Tauranga roading project set to go ahead without NZTA funding

* Miriam Bell for The Post-$: What’s behind the demand for renovation work? Despite the cost of living, renovation work is dominating tradies’ calendars more than new builds.

Councils

* David Long for Stuff: ‘No respect for you’: rivals hammer Wayne Brown for missing first mayoral debateAuckland’s mayoral hopefuls lined up at the University of Auckland to share their visions — and take aim at an absent incumbent.

* Libby Kirkby-McLeod for RNZ: Council spending won't be investigated by Auditor-General

* Katie Todd for RNZ: Mayor warns of huge rates hike after council quits joint water plan

Poverty, Health, Education, Living Costs, Incomes & Crime

* Susan Edmonds for RNZ: 'They suggested we wear more clothes': Households hit with huge power bills

* Deep-dive by Mildred Armah for Stuff: She weighed 143kg and couldn’t afford surgery in NZ - so she went to India. Weight loss has been a constant struggle for Faren Ormond. Ineligible for publicly funded surgery in New Zealand, she found another option.

* Shilpy Arora Gaikwad for Stuff: The $2.6b problem: Organised gangs drive ‘brazen and aggressive’ retail crime wave. Major retailers say it has become organised, aggressive and increasingly driven by gangs and repeat offenders who operate with growing coordination.

* Caron Copek for Stuff: The global price of butter is coming down, so when will it get cheaper for us? The good news? The cost of a block of our country’s finest should fall for shoppers.

* Adam Pearse for NZ Herald: Mike King’s role within Govt-funded charity I Am Hope unclear

* Nikki Preston for OneRoof: Mike King is selling his home and stepping back from charity role

Climate & Environment

* Katie Todd for RNZ: Locals range from curious to staunchly opposed on giant gold mine

* RNZ: Penalties for breaching RMA hiked

* Alice Peacock for Newsroom Pro-$ (free from tomorrow): NZers borrow over $1b in ‘green loans’ for heat pumps and electric cars

* Op-Ed by Basil Sharp for Newsroom: How should NZ prepare for expected challenges of climate change? Making the consequences of climate change a matter of individual responsibility is disingenuous

Docs of the Day

* Samuel Sherry for NZ Herald: NZ housing affordability best since pre-Covid, Cotality report finds

* Stats NZ data: Gender pay gap narrows to lowest on record

Cartoon of the day: Helicopters vs hospitals

Ka kite ano. Bernard

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