New Zealand to introduce laws to speed up approval

New Zealand said on Wednesday it would introduce laws in November to fast track the approval process for new supermarkets in a bid to boost competition and bring in lower prices. Finance Minister Nicola Willis said her centre-right government’s proposed rules will speed up and simplify the process to open or expand supermarkets in the country. “We’re creating an express lane for new supermarkets to boost competition and deliver better deals for Kiwi shoppers,” Willis said in a statement. Tough regulations and a slow approval process for new applications are blocking new competitors from gaining a foothold in the country’s grocery sector, dominated by Foodstuffs NZ and Australia’s Woolworths, Willis said. Some respondents to a government-initiated feedback process on the sector have argued for the break up of Foodstuffs and Woolworths, Willis said. But she said any decision “to restructure the supermarkets is not a decision that would be taken lightly” though