Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Make Price Gouging Illegal) Bill 2024. The Albanese Labor government believes every Australian deserves a fair deal on their weekly shop when going to the supermarket. It's appalling how big corporations have been allowed to take advantage of everyday Australians by jacking up and manipulating prices to trick people into believing they're getting a better deal than they really are. I can remember being part of the national price watch organisation and going out on a monthly basis checking prices. I found it extraordinary at that time that it depended on which suburb you lived in as to the differences in the stores of the two major chains. They were always blaming coming to Tasmania; it was all about freight and transport. The reality is all the groceries go into the one central point, and then they're transported out. To be frank with you, it would be no more than four kilometres between Newstead and Mowbray, so the changes in those areas—one is more affluent, and the other one is more working class. The working-class supermarket was the most expensive. That was the reality in the 1990s and early 2000s.

What we've been doing since we've come into government is listening to the Australian community. We know that people are struggling right now and that everyday Australians are dreading the weekly trip to the supermarket. This is why the Albanese Labor government is cracking down on these dodgy corporations that have been steadily raising their prices for years, unlike the Liberals who, over their decade of incompetence and neglect when they were in government, did absolutely nothing to prevent it or force these changes to happen.

What we've seen in the contributions that have been made here this morning is the good Liberal senator from WA putting all of this at the foot of the Labor government—that it's all our fault. The prices are rising, and the cost of living is going up. Yet they were in government, and the cost of living during that time was going up. They're talking about wages and cost. Their policy was, intentionally, to keep Australian low-income earners' wages lower. That was their policy. What we have done since we've been in government is address the neglect by those on the other side, because they did nothing to prevent the foreseeable outcomes of prices rising or respond to the flashing neon signs that were warning us about the rise in the costs of living. They did nothing, as I said, which is why we had to clean up, yet again, another mess that they left behind after a decade of neglect.

We know that the Greens political party are the experts that come into this chamber and grandstand on any issue that they believe will make good social media or that they can get good media grabs from. That's what they do. The Greens political party MPs and senators are really like a group of children, throwing tantrums because they can't always get their own way.

Let's talk about the housing policy—the bleating through the media and in this chamber about not addressing social and affordable housing in this country. Yet, this government has invested more in housing than any government in the last 100 years. But, when the Greens have the opportunity to vote for legislation to bring about change that's going to help house 40,000 Australian families, what do they do? They team up with the Liberals to prevent a vote on that very legislation. They didn't have the guts to vote it down, but they also have no foresight to support good legislation. They need to be called out. But I digress. I really should stick to the issue of groceries and what's happening and affecting everyday Australians, but I can't help it. They make my blood boil, they really do, because they're such hypocrites.

I want to talk about the improvements that the Labor government has made to help Australians deal with the cost of living. I don't want to be someone who comes into this chamber and whinges about things without being part of a government that makes changes and addresses the concerns that are affecting my fellow Australians. Like I said before, the Liberals want to blame Labor for everything, including interest rates, low wages and inflation. It's almost like they think we designed this. We didn't. What we're doing is taking good policies and bringing good legislation into this place to address those very issues.

Today, we're tackling issues at the forefront of this deception of shrinkflation. Shrinkflation is a tactic these organisations use to deceive customers slowly over time in an attempt to go undetected where they slowly increase the price of a product and blame the price rise on inflation while simultaneously decreasing the size and amount of the useable product. This use of manipulation and blatant deception is unacceptable in our country, and we, as a government, are not going to stand by and allow that to happen any longer. We're a government of action. Our government is dedicated to ensuring that every Australian knows that what they're paying for at the check-out is a fair price and that there is no deception attached to that.

Our government plans to implement laws that will both force these organisations to display clearer unit pricing and fine companies severely for not abiding by these laws. The way we'll go about this is through amending the Unit Pricing Code to ensure that corporations are providing the information needed for Australians to make an informed decision and to get the best deals possible. I don't know whether you've found this, but when I go grocery shopping and they have a little tag that says, 'This is a deal,' or that it's reduced I always check underneath to make sure. It is amazing how many times you will find that, when there's a great deal, the price is the same. It's just a con to get you to actually believe that they're doing something to help you. So the issue is: buyers beware.

As I've said, through the measures we will be putting into legislation, we will be strengthening this code to protect Australians from that greed currently infecting supermarkets and the view they have of the world that, as a duopoly, they as major organisations have the right to do what they want. Well, we're going to take them head-on. We are currently focusing on improving the visibility and readiness of price tags to allow for shoppers an easy time comparing prices. For much the same reason we're looking at ways to address the major inconsistency when it comes to the units of measurement used across various supermarkets. Both of these underhanded tactics are meant to make it more difficult for consumers to determine the best deals. As we all know, everyone is so busy. People want to go into the supermarket, grab their groceries and know with confidence that they're not being ripped off when they get to the check-out.

The Albanese Labor government is already investing $30 million into the ACCC to further crack down on supermarkets and their deceptive practices. So we're investing in the ACCC, who will also take action and monitor what is happening in the supermarkets. This money is a great investment and will go a long way in supporting Australians to take the pressure off the cost of living and allow for rates to decrease at a much faster rate in terms of pricing. There has to be real justification for increasing the prices at the supermarket.

Another thing this government is doing is following the recommendations it's received from Dr Craig Emerson in his review. The review has allowed the Albanese Labor government to commence accurate and meaningful consultation for a new mandatory food and grocery code. We have further enforced competition and consumer laws by banning unfair contract terms as well as increased the penalties for breaching the said laws. Our government is working hard on delivering substantial progress on the most significant merger reforms in this country for over five decades. Due to our efficient communications with states and the fact that we are willing to work with state governments and our ability to make things happen, we're working with them across this issue, as we are with so many others, to revitalise the national competition policy, which includes both planning and zoning for supermarkets.

On top of all of this amazing work and our plans to address these deceptive practices from these major corporations, we have also supported CHOICE to release their second price-monitoring report. This report will, once again, give the Australian people extremely accurate data on where they can get the best deals, in order to put even more pressure on the supermarkets. The Albanese Labor government has chosen to fund this because we know Australians are doing it tough and because we care. We know how hard it is to manage your personal budget.

These corporations have been warned. We are prepared to work with them. We will do it diligently, though we will do it with Australian consumers at the forefront of our concerns. We will work with them so that Australians know that any increase in their grocery prices are based on legitimate reasons and we will ensure that we end this deceptive practice of raising the price while reducing the size of the product. Groceries are a massive factor in the cost of living in Australia right now, and, by working to address these issues, our government will help every single hardworking Aussie.

Labor has a long legacy of being for the people. Unlike the previous government, we are acting in the areas that we believe count the most and have the greatest impact on Australian consumers. We have given tax cuts, we have given energy bill relief and we have supplied cheaper medicines. Just as a reminder to anyone that's listening to this, those tax cuts we gave were given to all Australian workers. Under the Liberals' proposal, there were low-income workers who were not going to get a tax cut at all. So we've have done that. They voted against our increase to the tax cuts. They voted against cheaper medicines. Every single piece of legislation that we've brought in, including energy bill assistance for Australians and small businesses, the previous government did nothing towards when they were in government. They had 22 failed policies, and now we know they've gone for the mushroom cloud effect, led by Mr Dutton.

The big difference is that we are addressing the issues. We have listened to the Australian people. We know their genuine concerns about what's happening out in the supermarkets. Like Senator Tyrrell and Senator Urquhart, I come from Tasmania. We don't have the same opportunities for Aldi, because Aldi has chosen not to come to Tasmania. Why? Because they obviously won't make enough money. That's the only reason they won't come, but Tasmanians are calling out for that competition. So, today, my call to Aldi is: 'Come down, and you will be surprised how well supported you are.'

The difference with this legislation—even though the intent may very well be a good one, which is unusual for the Greens—is that it needs so much work. Coming into this chamber and introducing legislation should not be based on a child's tantrum approach of: 'Let's get some publicity. Let's try and con the Australian people before a federal election.' That's what they're doing. On one hand, they're saying they're talking for Australian consumers; on the other hand, the Greens in Tasmania are rallying outside retailers who sell legitimately clean salmon from Tasmania. That's what these people are doing. They are such hypocrites. They want to close down retailers who sell Tasmanian salmon, which is the best salmon in the world—we export internationally. We have a clean, green environment in which they are grown. But what do the Greens do? Again, it's all about politics, not about achievement.