Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

That's right, yes. You might speak too soon, Senator Farrell, but I'll hold you to account at another time for that interjection.

But clearly Labor is failing on competition reform. Labor has performed just as miserably on competition reform as it has on other areas of economic matters. Had Labor given this reform the attention it desperately needs, Senator McKim's bill may never have needed to be written. The coalition has been calling for stronger competition laws in the supermarket sector since the election, but it has fallen on deaf ears. The allegations last month, by the ACCC, of anticompetitive behaviour by Coles and Woolworths were a reminder of the urgency of supermarket sector reform. How telling that Labor, in a panic, only released draft legislation to reform the food and grocery code on the very same day the ACCC announced it was taking this legal action—a full three months after Labor's own hand-picked reviewer had recommended it. Even now, this draft legislation is unlikely to be legislated before the next election, leaving Australian consumers exposed yet again.

In contrast, what would the coalition do? The coalition will stand up for Australian small businesses, farmers, and consumers by delivering stronger penalties for anticompetitive behaviour in the supermarket and hardware sectors. So far we've announced a comprehensive package to target this, including, firstly, a supermarket commissioner, who will act as an impartial, confidential avenue for farmers and suppliers and provide this information to the ACCC; secondly, infringement notices up to $2 million for contraventions of the food and grocery code; and, finally, divestiture powers to address serious allegations of land banking, anticompetitive discounting and costs being unfairly passed on to suppliers in the supermarket sector, with appropriate safeguards in place and to be used as a last resort. It's a sensible, carefully designed divestiture proposal for supermarkets.

In summary, the coalition will oppose this bill, because increasing competition is the most effective and reliable way of preventing price gouging in the long term. It is improved competition that will ensure lower prices, create greater employment opportunities and foster innovation. It will not be ideology, it will not be overreach and it will not be Senator McKim's bill, which, despite what it claims, is both radical and controversial. What we need is lasting, well-designed reform, and that is what the coalition will deliver.

In the meantime, we can continue to pressure the Albanese government—which was exposed once again last month for going slow on competition reform—to take immediate action that struggling Australians need it to take now.