Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prime Minister, a farmer ploughs, tills, fights disease, weeds, irrigates, fertilises, harvests, cleans and delivers to stores. Cold and Worthless pay the farmer 49c a potato, put it on a shelf and charge customers $4.50, an 800 per cent mark-up. Their CEOs get $10 million a year; the vanishing check-out chick gets $50,000. In 1990 they had a 50.1 per cent market share; in 2001 they had 70.1, according to ABS and ANOP figures. At two per cent a year, they're now over 80 per cent. PM, if divestiture, won't you be like Roosevelt and have your face carved on Mount Remarkable with Tubba Tre, Ralph Honner and Red Ted Theodore?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the best. I give the call to the Prime Minister.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to the unique member for Kennedy for that question. The member for Kennedy is many things. I would describe him absolutely, though, as fair dinkum about his commitment to his electorate, his commitment to the people in his seat, whether they be farmers or miners—whoever they are. He's a champion for his community, and the issues that he raises here about Australian producers and farmers—the feeling that they don't get a fair shake from the product of their work—I think are spot on.

When farmers are getting less money for their product, whether it be potatoes, like the one he used, or any other vegetable or product, then you would expect that to translate into cheaper prices at the checkout. The truth is that it hasn't done so. That is why my government's determined to hold them to account. That's why we've got the ACCC conducting an inquiry. They'll produce an interim report as well as then a final report. The options that are open for them are, of course, we've already increased penalties on anticompetitive conduct. We've already banned unfair contract terms. We've set up a competition task force in Treasury which is considering Australia's merger laws.

The government has also charged former competition minister Craig Emerson with reviewing the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct at the moment. That is a voluntary code, and we're looking at whether mandating is necessary there. I note that the Leader of the Nationals has said that the coalition were too slow when they were in government and that the Nationals wanted to move at a lot quicker pace in terms of a compulsory grocery code. Well, we haven't got the Liberal Party holding us back, I say to the Leader of the Nationals.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You're the only one holding us back!

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Nationals will cease interjecting.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They're heroes in opposition! They just didn't get around to it in the 10 years they were in government.

What we'll do, Member for Kennedy, is certainly respond to any recommendations, including recommendations by the ACCC. I want to continue to work with the member for Kennedy. I'm not sure I'll continue to work on some of the creative suggestions that he's made to the landscape of Far North Queensland up there. (Time expired)