Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Pratt, for what I think is an important question going to the point about cost of living pressures that Australians are experiencing. The Albanese government certainly understands that Australians are under the pump and, as a government, we are doing everything we can to address it. That's why we're delivering billions of dollars in cost-of-living relief on things like energy bills, medicines, cheaper child care and, of course, Labor's tax cuts from 1 July. But we also recognise that competition can play an important part in easing the pressure on households and businesses. After a wasted coalition decade, Labor is getting on with the job of making the Australian economy more competitive and fairer for producers and consumers. We've increased the penalty for anticompetitive conduct and banned unfair contract terms. Last year we reviewed the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct's dispute resolution provisions, and this year we've asked Dr Craig Emerson to review the code itself.

Dr Emerson's review is looking at the relationship between farmgate and retail prices and whether or not there could be more transparency in the food supply chain. The code was originally put in place to address the imbalance of market power between the supermarkets and their suppliers, especially smaller producers and farmers, but many farmers have certainly spoken to me about how hard they find it to deal with the supermarket chains and the lack of transparency that exists in those negotiations. This review of the code marks an important step towards understanding how our supermarket sector is working to deliver fair prices for everyday Australians and for our hardworking farmers. As part of the review, I convened two round tables, one with primary producer groups and another with processor groups and unions, so that they could have the opportunity to put directly to Dr Emerson their views about how the agriculture sector should be operating. We've also initiated an ACCC inquiry into supermarket prices and commissioned consumer group CHOICE to provide quarterly price reporting.