Chris Hipkins announces Labour plan to outlaw price gouging if elected
New Zealand's Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins has announced a policy to outlaw price gouging by large companies if his party wins the upcoming general election. The plan would empower the Commerce Commission to penalize firms that charge excessive prices for essential goods and services.
Why it matters
This policy reflects growing political pressure to address the cost-of-living crisis and corporate market power in essential sectors like food and energy.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins says companies found to be price gouging would be forced to pay penalties and “hand back every dollar of excess profit”. Photo / Anna Heath
Chris Hipkins says that the Labour Party will outlaw price gouging if elected to Government after November’s general election.
The Labour leader is expected to officially unveil the election policy at a convenience store in Wellington this morning, saying a handful of big companies are ripping off households, and there is currently no law preventing it.
The policy would make it illegal for large companies with significant market power to charge excessive prices for essential goods and services, or to pay unfairly low prices to suppliers.
The party also wants to embolden the Commerce Commission to investigate price gouging and support consumer groups and suppliers to do the same.
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