Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We all know that a basket of groceries at the check-out is costing more. In our view, Woolies and Coles have excessive market power—a concentration of power—and that means prices are higher than they should be. In other parts of the country we hear about a duopoly, but in small communities like mine there's typically only one place to shop. Now, unlike the previous government, we're not going to shrug our shoulders and say, 'Oh well, so sad.' We're going to look for ways to make things fairer, and that's why there are three inquiries currently underway. One is in the Senate, looking at a wide range of supermarket issues. We've also directed the ACCC to conduct an inquiry into the pricing practices of the supermarkets and the relationship between wholesale and retail prices. And the third inquiry is headed by former Labor competition minister and economist, Dr Craig Emerson.

We also know that farmers say they're getting less for their produce, but that it hasn't really led to cheaper prices for consumers. We think it should, and we think there should be transparency through the entire supply chain so that when people do their weekly shop, they're not shocked at the costs they're facing. The three reviews we're doing are absolutely essential to give consumers a fair go at the check-out. We'll look at every option to put downward pressure on prices so that both families and farmers get a fair go.