Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Kennedy for moving this motion, for highlighting such an important issue that we have in this nation at the moment—that is, the duopoly of the supermarkets. I couldn't agree more with the member for Monash on some of his comments in terms of the two retailers for supermarket goods having a 37 per cent share of everything sold in this nation. But, if you add on to that all their other retail outlets—liquor stores and a whole range of other things—it actually adds up to 70 per cent. So two retailers in this nation have a 70 per cent market share of everything being sold in retail in this country.

That is astonishing when you think about how we have let ourselves come to this, to have a duopoly of two massive supermarkets selling 70 per cent of everything that's sold in retail, from petrol right through to what is sold at bottle shops—liquor, wines et cetera. It is humungous. In most other countries they would be divested and broken up, but we've allowed them to take hold in this nation. We're seeing an unprecedented rise in supermarket costs at the moment. I speak regularly to people in my electorate, and they're doing it tough. It is the biggest expense that they have in the family budget. Going to the supermarket is a necessity. It's not like saying you'll get a new TV or a new pair of shoes, or putting off that holiday because you can't afford it. The supermarket is a necessity. You must go there every week to shop and to feed your family. It is a terrible situation that we're in.

One of the small investigations that I've done is on Nescafe, a popular brand we all know. Twelve months ago, a 500 gram tin of Nescafe was retailing at these outlets for approximately $14 to $16. Today that price is $28, a 100 per cent increase. You may say that energy prices and a whole range of other costs have gone up, but this is a 100 per cent increase on one particular product, and there are many other products that we're seeing the two big supermarkets raising the prices for.

We do listen to our constituents, and that's why on this side of the House we are rolling up our sleeves and doing everything that we can in our electorates to get a fair deal for our constituents. On top of a lot of other things with the cost of living, we've slashed the cost of medicines, improved paid parental leave, and done a whole range of other things to try and assist families. We want to ensure that supermarkets are doing the right thing by our constituents. We want to make sure that there's no gouging taking place. We want to make sure they are being fair—of course, fair to the point where they can make a profit for their shareholders but, at the same time, charge fair prices to the Australian people. The aim is to make Australia fair, whether you're a consumer, a business owner or a farmer.

To address this issue, we've initiated a thorough review through the ACCC to examine supermarket pricing, which hasn't been done for well over 10 years. This 12-month inquiry is a significant effort. It hasn't been done since 2008. We want to make sure that every dollar that Australians spend in supermarkets goes a long way because Aussies deserve a fair go. Many years ago, when I was growing up in the western suburbs of Adelaide, just around the corner from our street we had four little shops. Self-employed families ran these shops. Today there are none. There are no butchers and there are no small shops selling bread, milk, butter et cetera. We have two massive supermarkets in that area, and all these other little shops have closed.

We know that when some of these big multinationals make the plans to open up a supermarket they can actually run at a loss for 10 years—which does what? Initially you'd get cheaper prices, but eventually everything shuts around them and they have a complete monopoly on everything that's being sold. That's why the ACCC's inquiry is going to cover various aspects, including the pricing practice and other practices; the challenges faced by smaller retailers, especially in regional and remote areas; factors affecting price along the supply chain; and potential obstacles to fair competition. What we need is more competition, fair competition and more players in the market, but certainly the ACCC will get to the bottom of this.

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