It wasn't needed Phil

One of Labour's key policy planks at the last election was the removal of GST from fresh fruit and vegetables. Fortunately, the electorate rejected both the policy and the party; it would have been an administrative nightmare to implement and monitor.

But it also wasn't needed; Statistics New Zealand reports:

Food prices fell 1.0 percent in the March 2012 month, following a 0.6 percent rise in February, Statistics New Zealand said today.
"Prices fell in March for all five broad food categories. This last happened in October 2009," Statistics NZ prices manager Chris Pike said.

The most significant decrease came from the fruit and vegetables subgroup (down 4.2 percent). The fall in fruit and vegetable prices reflected seasonal price falls for apples (down 24 percent). Lower prices were also recorded for grapes (down 20 percent), pumpkin (down 26 percent), potatoes (down 5.8 percent), and cauliflower (down 33 percent). Prices for these fruits and vegetables usually fall at this time of the year.

In March 2012, the meat, poultry, and fish subgroup (down 1.8 percent) was the next largest downward contributor to the food price index (FPI). This reflected lower prices for chicken pieces (down 4.0 percent), bacon (down 6.5 percent), lamb chops (down 7.8 percent), sausages (down 5.0 percent), and porterhouse/sirloin beef steak (down 3.5 percent). These falls were influenced by more discounting in March than in February.
Within the other subgroups, the most significant downward contributions to the FPI came from lower prices for chocolate biscuits (down 7.8 percent) and energy drinks (down 4.4 percent). These decreases reflect more discounting in March than in February. 

For the year to March 2012, food prices increased 0.2 percent. Three of the five food subgroups made upward contributions to the FPI. Higher prices were recorded for grocery food (up 1.7 percent), restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (up 1.4 percent), and non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.5 percent). These rises were partly offset by price falls for fruit and vegetables (down 7.2 percent) and meat, poultry, and fish (down 0.9 percent).

David Shearer has sensibly consigned Phil Goff's Big Idea to the policy graveyard, which is where it belongs. With fruit and vegetables now more than seven percent cheaper than a year ago, New Zealanders should be able to make healthy choices for themselves, without the government adding a further layer of administration and confusion to the mix.