Latest news with #NewZealand-made
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Woolworths justifies huge price disparity for Kiwis for household staple
Woolworths has revealed why it's continuing to sell a New Zealand-made dairy product cheaper in Australia than what Kiwis are forced to pay in its country of origin. Butter prices in the land of the long white cloud have increased by a staggering 65 per cent in a year, worsening cost-of-living pressure on shoppers. This week, a block of 400-gram New Zealand-made Westgold butter was selling for $6.50 (NZ$7.00) in Woolworths' Australian stores, but across the ditch they were retailing for NZ$9.95 (A$9.19). It is a similar story for New Zealand-made Mainland varieties, with 250-gram butter priced at $6.50 (NZ$7.00) in Australia versus $8.90 (A$8.15) in New Zealand. Woolworths acknowledged shoppers in both countries face cost-of-living pressures, and it claimed 'delivering value wherever we can continues to be our priority'. When it comes to butter prices, the company indicated trans-Tasman pricing is complex because it's influenced by multiple factors, including tax and global markets. 'A range of factors can influence the price of New Zealand-made products sold locally and in Australia, and Woolworths operates separate buying arrangements across the two countries,' the company told Yahoo News in a statement. 'For butter, for example, New Zealand is the largest exporter globally, and current New Zealand retail prices reflect an increase in the global price paid to producers that came into effect on May 1. Australian prices for the same product sourced before May will reflect the lower global price. 'Different tax arrangements and rates can be a factor, and purchase volumes and different promotional pricing activities can also influence retail prices on either side of the Tasman.' Woolworths was unable to comment on whether butter prices would increase in Australia when new product is sourced from New Zealand. 🗑️ Coles, Woolworths, Aldi reveal fate of 11,000 tonnes of soft plastics 😔 Aussie mum's sad supermarket confession 🚨 Woolworths explains truth behind hidden detail worrying shoppers While there's an appearance of competition in the New Zealand supermarket space, like Australia, the sector is dominated by a duopoly. The brands PAK'nSAVE, New World and Four Square are all owned by local cooperative Foodstuffs, while Countdown and Woolworths are operated by Australia's Woolworths Group. Prices for butter were unsurprisingly similar across the nation's supermarkets, with Mainland selling for NZ$9.95 at New World and NZ$8.49 at PAK'nSAVE. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Otago Daily Times
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Policy, not fashion, puts callousness on display
Finance Minister Nicola Willis was irked by the interest in her Budget day outfit. She was questioned about wearing an overseas label on the big day, rather than showcasing a New Zealand designer to support the local fashion industry. Does anybody care whether Christopher Luxon's ill-fitting suits are local and made of New Zealand wool, and gasp if they aren't? All the same, I confess to laughing at his confused-cleric-worshipping-at-the-altar-of-the-lamb look when he popped a promotional T-shirt over his suit. Daggy. It is hard to imagine Ms Willis committing such a fashion faux pas/crime. As one of my previous columns showed, nobody turned a well-coiffed hair over the fact Air New Zealand uniforms are mostly not made here or that any wool in them is also not local. Concern about that as a poor example setter might have been more relevant than agonising over one posh frock, but then, as a sheep farmer's daughter, I am biased. Petty finger-pointing about women politicians' clothing has gone on for far too long here, and elsewhere. Fellow senior minister Chris Bishop thought the story about Ms Willis' frock was ridiculous and the decision to run the story sexist. Both he and Ms Willis made reference to the decade of my birth in their comments. Ms Willis, on RNZ: "Let's focus on the politics. This line of questioning as far as I'm concerned belongs in the 1950s." Hear, hear. And, what else belongs in the 1950s? Oh, that little business of the gender pay gap. Ms Willis wants us to talk about her Budget. Let's talk about how lowly paid women saved her Budget, women who might have got some of the $1.8billion Treasury had allowed for pay equity settlements this financial year, part of the $12.8b Ms Willis has clawed back over four years. No posh frocks for them, New Zealand-made or otherwise, I am guessing. Coalition politicians say the previous system was a mess, even though it had cross-party support when introduced. They say all manner of things were being confused with pay equity but have yet to come up with even one example of a group which was seeking pay equity but not deserving of it. In the absence of any evidence about what was so appalling about the law as it stood, apart from the fact it would cost a lot eventually, I cannot see this as anything other than a belittling, disrespectful money grab by a government which is shortsighted and callous about the poor and downtrodden. If one more politician regurgitates the desperate superficial nonsense about how the comparator process has worked, Parliament might be able to hear my screams from here. It has been three weeks now since the proposed law was unceremoniously foisted on us and then rammed through Parliament with no public input. If the government thought a few weasel words from its women ministers, the dropping of the "c-word" in Parliament, and the thrill of the Budget would damp down the outrage about this, they are frighteningly naive. This week, the formation of a cross-party group of former women MPs, at the instigation of the redoubtable Dame Prof Marilyn Waring, ensures the issue is going to stay around at high level for a while yet. The group will make up a "people's select committee" to have a go at doing the job our current government parliamentarians thought unimportant. Those on the committee are Jackie Blue, Jo Hayes, Belinda Vernon, Lianne Dalziel, Ria Bond, Steve Chadwick, Nanaia Mahuta, Lynne Pillay and Sue Bradford. The women will independently examine the amendments to the Equal Pay Act passed under urgency, considering submissions and holding hearings. Dame Marilyn told 1News she had a lot of difficulty in seeing pieces of legislation of such magnitude passed without evidence before the House. "We want to know why such a large number of women who are not well paid became the collateral damage, really, to balance a Budget." Ouch. The aim is to gather the evidence the government should have. She told RNZ she was sure there was evidence, "but it has not had a vehicle for publicity". "It has not been brought together in a consolidated, rigorous way for people to make their own decisions, as opposed to just listening to a lot of kind of high-flying cliches." The committee will be inviting a range of key people who submitted on the legislation the previous time it was amended, along with the 33 groups whose claims were stymied by the law change. Submissions are open now until July 31, hearings will follow and the report is expected to be completed by Christmas. Ding, dong merrily on high. Just in time for election year. • Elspeth McLean is a Dunedin writer.
NZ Herald
23-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Finance Minister Nicola Willis criticised for wearing UK dress on Budget day
'We have wonderful designers here, Jacinda [Ardern] got it right by wearing NZ-made as much as possible. Our leaders should also be doing that. Be proud of your nation and what we make here.' Online, Willis' dress retails for $1100. Marr said that while Willis and other New Zealanders can afford to spend that amount on a garment, the money 'would be better in our pockets or country than overseas'. Asked why she chose not to wear a New Zealand designer on Budget day, Willis told the Herald: 'Like most Kiwis, I buy my clothes from a range of places, and I enjoy wearing a lot of New Zealand-made and designed clothing. 'However, I don't think the focus should be on what I wear, but rather the substance of our Government's policies.' While symbolic, Marr said, any public display of support for New Zealand designers is of value. 'Being dressed in a NZ designer would help our industry hugely, as it is struggling. We need to be front and centre to our nation and the world.' Clothing and textile advocacy collective Mindful Fashion NZ released a report in 2024 that found the NZ fashion clothing and textile industry contributed $7.8b to the local economy in 2023, accounted for 1.9% of GDP, and employed 76,000 workers. But chief executive Jacinta Fitzgerald said the industry is facing significant challenges right now. 'Supporting local is one way that everyone can contribute to creating a more prosperous New Zealand for all of us. 'Every dollar you spend is a vote of support for that business.' Fitzgerald said when you buy from a local brand, 'you are not only supporting a local business that pays tax here, and employs staff here and therefore keeping the value in the NZ economy, but you are also supporting the many often small businesses that they work locally with to bring that product to life so it has a huge flow-on impact'. 'There is great pride and leadership in standing strong in NZ fashion as a creative and cultural representation of who we are as a nation.'
Scoop
21-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
2025 Budget Must Prioritise Support For Small Businesses
Press Release – Buy NZ Made 'Small businesses are facing a tough economic climate – rising costs, uncertain demand, and global competition. What they need now is a Government that steps up with strategic, long-term investment in local enterprise.' Buy NZ Made is calling on the Government to deliver meaningful support for New Zealand's small businesses, the backbone of the economy and the heart of our local communities. With small businesses making up over 97% of all enterprises in New Zealand and employing more than 600,000 Kiwis, Buy NZ Made Executive Director Dane Ambler says it is essential that the 2025 Budget includes targeted initiatives to ease cost pressures, encourage innovation, and drive local consumer confidence. 'Small businesses are facing a tough economic climate – rising costs, uncertain demand, and global competition. What they need now is a Government that steps up with strategic, long-term investment in local enterprise. 'Ideally, we would like to see increased access to low-interest loans, grants, and tax relief for small businesses, especially those recovering from the impacts of inflation and global supply chain disruptions.' Ambler says the government's recent move to a 'local-first' approach in procurement to ensure New Zealand-made products and services are given fair consideration in public spending decisions was a good start. 'Backing small businesses is not just good economics – it's good nation-building. 'When the Government supports local, it sends a powerful message to every New Zealander that choosing Kiwi-made products and services creates jobs, strengthens communities, and keeps money circulating within our own economy.' Buy NZ Made is encouraging the public and policymakers alike to think local, buy local, and back the businesses that make New Zealand unique.
Scoop
20-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
2025 Budget Must Prioritise Support For Small Businesses
Buy NZ Made is calling on the Government to deliver meaningful support for New Zealand's small businesses, the backbone of the economy and the heart of our local communities. With small businesses making up over 97% of all enterprises in New Zealand and employing more than 600,000 Kiwis, Buy NZ Made Executive Director Dane Ambler says it is essential that the 2025 Budget includes targeted initiatives to ease cost pressures, encourage innovation, and drive local consumer confidence. "Small businesses are facing a tough economic climate - rising costs, uncertain demand, and global competition. What they need now is a Government that steps up with strategic, long-term investment in local enterprise. "Ideally, we would like to see increased access to low-interest loans, grants, and tax relief for small businesses, especially those recovering from the impacts of inflation and global supply chain disruptions." Ambler says the government's recent move to a "local-first" approach in procurement to ensure New Zealand-made products and services are given fair consideration in public spending decisions was a good start. "Backing small businesses is not just good economics - it's good nation-building. "When the Government supports local, it sends a powerful message to every New Zealander that choosing Kiwi-made products and services creates jobs, strengthens communities, and keeps money circulating within our own economy." Buy NZ Made is encouraging the public and policymakers alike to think local, buy local, and back the businesses that make New Zealand unique.
