Your Daily Ten@10 - 2026/100

This is edition 2026/100 of the Ten@10 newsletter.

Hi all,

This is the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.

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1. The Supermarket duopoly still rules

Bryce Edwards

• 🛒 The Commerce Commission’s latest grocery report finds the supermarket duopoly still controls 82% of the market , unchanged since 2022, confirming a “broken market.”
• 📊 Despite years of scrutiny, competition hasn’t improved , with regulators noting “little observable change” and grocery prices rising 4.6% over the past year.
• 😐 Officials, including grocery head Alice Hume, describe the situation as “disappointing,” while supermarkets remain highly profitable by global standards.
• 🔁 Multiple reforms—new laws, a Grocery Commissioner, and attempts to attract competitors—have failed to reduce market concentration.
• 🕰️ Authorities argue reforms need more time, but critics say this signals inaction rather than real change.
• 🏛️ Politicians have debated supermarket reform for over a decade, yet no meaningful fix has been implemented , even amid a cost-of-living crisis.
• 🌹 The political left, particularly Labour, has largely avoided strong action , offering criticism but no concrete policy to break up the duopoly.
• 🌱 The Greens have also remained largely silent , leaving a gap on an issue tied to inequality and corporate power.
• 📢 Populist parties like New Zealand First and The Opportunities Party are stepping in, campaigning to break up the duopoly and capture voter frustration.
• 🔄 Labour’s reluctance is framed as structural , tied to close relationships with supermarket lobbyists and a “revolving door” between politics and industry.
• 🧑‍💼 Figures like Andrew Kirton—a former senior Labour insider now working for Woolworths—highlight deep connections between the party and the sector.
• 🤝 Similar links extend across politics, including figures connected to both Labour and National, suggesting bipartisan entanglement with supermarket interests.
• ⚖️ As a result, the party most expected to challenge corporate power is seen as unable to credibly lead reform , leaving voters without a clear champion on grocery prices.

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