Nicola Willis and MBIE kept unfavourable supermarket break-up advice under wraps until shortly before the election

Analysis byWellington Business Editor·NZ Herald·15 Nov, 2026 11:00 PM5 mins to readWellington Business Editor, Jenée Tibshraeny, covers business, the economy and public policy for the Business Herald.‌National's finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis and leader Christopher Luxon can point to extensive work done to support their supermarket break-up policy. Photo / Anna Heath.National’s finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis made much of the fact she had done her homework when she surprised voters with a policy to break up Foodstuffs. The pinch is that homework was funded by the taxpayer and kept secret from the public until shortly before the election. In