Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

I also want to thank Senator McKim and his gorgeous staff that worked hard and long on the Competition and Consumer (Divestiture Powers) Bill 2024. We've all heard the catchphrase, 'Down, down—prices are down,' but the only thing going down is trust in the major supermarkets. Duopolies are bad for the market, believe it or not. Australia's supermarket scene is a case in point of that.

The Senate Select Committee on Supermarket Prices kicked off at the start of this month, and the evidence has been damning. We've seen people shake because of nerves and cry because of fear, all while being thankful that their voices are finally being heard. Successive governments have stood by while the big supermarkets, Woolworths and Coles, indulge in ever-increasing market power. There has been inquiry after inquiry, report after report, yet no-one has come up with anything other than maintaining the status quo. Not this time. Something's going to change.

It's obvious that it's not just the major supermarkets giving Australians the raw end of the deal; it's also big businesses, like Bunnings, that are leaving hardworking Australians high and dry. Right now, we pretty much have a situation where full-grown adults are bullying kindergarten children. The power imbalance is too skewed, and the supermarkets aren't picking on someone their own size. Under the guise of inflation, the supermarkets have jacked up prices, worsening the cost-of-living crisis for so many Australian families.

In Hobart, we heard from Louise, a single mother of eight children, who works in child safety and completed a bachelor's degree and honours. Louise said she's often faced with the impossible decision: food or doctor; food or the power bill; food or uniforms for her kids. The cost-of-living crisis isn't just a catchcry; it's a reality. But, precisely at this time, when so many Australian families are doing it tough, the supermarkets should do what they can to help not hinder families.

While the supermarkets' profits go sky-high, it's also Australian farmers who struggle to make ends meet in a world of increased costs. Some fruit and vegetable growers haven't been given price increases in 15 years. How is that so? The big supermarkets flex their muscles, using tactics to keep their purchase price low while making the customer pay. Farmers pride themselves on feeding their country, but even they are saying farming just isn't the industry to be in anymore. Family farms are going under because kids have seen their parents struggle and they're steering clear of a future in the industry. Parents are actually encouraging their children not to take up farming. They're telling them to go find something better.

Between what the farmers get paid and what the consumers pay, there is a big gaping hole and a bucket of cash lining the pockets of the major supermarkets. Because the major supermarkets have a duopoly, it's difficult to find other buyers to take on produce, so farmers feel obliged to enter into contracts with Coles and Woolies. If they don't, who will they sell it to? Farmers are still using the weight of the supermarkets' word as supply agreements. In many instances, there's no written agreement. What contract have you had by text that you can stand by in a court of law? This makes it hard to plan for future investments in the business, stagnating growth and innovation. While people are starving, farmers and community groups tell us that perfectly fine produce is being thrown out. These strict rules are taking quality produce off the shelf and putting it in the garbage bin.

This divestiture bill is to pull into line those corporations who use dodgy tactics to exploit others to their own gain. How we got to this point can be blamed on government inaction. They've given Woolworths and Coles a free pass. We are told that they are big employers or that millions of Australians are shareholders. Yes, they are big employers, collectively employing more than 310,000 people. That's more than half of Tasmania's entire population. Yes, there are many Australians who are shareholders, directly or indirectly through superannuation. And, yes, the size of the business is mammoth, with Coles and Woolworths each bringing in more revenue than the entire GDP of Tasmania. But no business should be able to hide behind the facade of being a big employer to duckshove the standards that the community expects of it.

In Tassie we have seen Woolworths and Coles grow too big for their boots. The expansion strategies of the big two supermarkets have been aggressive. There's a Coles or Woolies for every 8,000 people. Tasmanians aren't spoiled for choice though on where to shop. The big supermarkets have a hold on the market in Tasmania, and it makes it hard for other players to enter the market. That's why we need these divestiture powers. The supermarkets are dabbling in so many things to cement their market power. Their pricing tactics, purchasing tactics and tactics for acquiring property all reek of attempts to limit competition.

The Prime Minister said, 'We're not the old Soviet Union,' when ruling out divestiture powers. I wonder if the Prime Minister intended to call the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union offshoots of the Soviet Union? I suspect not. All these countries have divestiture powers and the sky has not fallen in. The reality is this is an entirely sensible approach. All it means is that the ACCC can obtain a court ordered divestiture where an abuse of market power has occurred. It extends the current divestiture power that can only be obtained where a breach of merger laws has occurred. This will not affect corporations that do the right thing. Placing checks and balances on our free market isn't something to be afraid of. That's why I'll be supporting this bill. It's obvious that Woolworths and Coles have gone unchecked for too long. It's time for them to have a reality check.