Nationals Leader Says Government Should Dismantle Coles, Woolworths

A variety of vegetables is displayed at a supermarket in Albany, Western Australia, on Jan. 11, 2024. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times

Nationals Leader David Littleproud has called on Australian policymakers to take drastic measures to eliminate the supermarket duopoly.

This comes following a new investigative documentary by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on the business practices of the two major supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, and their impact on consumers and farmers.

The documentary revealed stories of farmers who claimed they were forced to sell produce at low prices by the two companies, and allegations that the supermarket giants had used inflation as a cover to raise prices unreasonably.

In an interview with 7 News, Mr. Littleproud said the ABC documentary confirmed what the public had known about the supermarket duo.

“We’ve got the evidence. We have seen that with meat prices and fresh produce,” he said.

“When you have too much market dominance and power, you can treat people in a way that actually destroys and tears away our food security.”

The Nationals leader then called on politicians across the chamber to work together to bring forward all the price gouging investigations on supermarkets 12 months earlier, and grant the consumer watchdog more power to crack down on unlawful business practices, including the ability to break up main players in the market.

“I think this now demonstrates we need to come together as legislatures, put aside politics, and bring in … powers which would strip some of these big supermarkets of their chains, and we may even see some of their stores have to be sold off to competitors to increase competition,” he said.

“The time for reviews is over. Let’s just get on with it.”

In late January, the Labor government directed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to conduct a 12-month investigation into price gouging in the supermarket sector.

The Greens are also leading a parliamentary inquiry into supermarket prices.

Coles and Woolworths signs are seen outside a shopping centre in Melbourne, Australia, on May 25, 2015. Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Concerns About Farmers Leaving the Industry

According to the ABC documentary, 34 percent of vegetable growers said they want to exit the sector in the next 12 months due to profit pressure.

Mr. Littleproud raised the alarm about food security in the event Australia suddenly lost a large number of farmers.

“If we lose 34 percent of our farmers, we lose our food security, and we can’t afford that … This is a commodity that underpins all life,” he said.

“This is where governments should get involved when it’s a marketplace that has too much distortion, too much power. We need competition, and we need fairness.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud speaks to the media at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on May 30, 2023. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

At the same time, Mr. Littleproud criticised the federal Labor government for being slow to act.

“Labor could have started the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) investigations before Christmas but didn’t understand the scale nor the severity of the cost-of-living crisis,” he said in a statement.

“While Labor spent last year distracted on a $450 million (US$294 million) failed Voice Referendum, the price disparity between the farmgate and the supermarket checkout was allowed to escalate out of control.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Coles and Woolworths knew that public opinion had an impact on their business.

“There'll be pressure on the supermarkets to do the right thing,” he told Hit WA radio. “The pressure has built over a period of time.”

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said it was “heartbreaking” to see supermarkets push farmers into difficult situations with their power.

“That’s why we do need stronger laws and stronger rules around supermarket behaviour than what we’ve ever had before,” he said in comments obtained by AAP.

“I’m hoping that that will be the outcome of these reviews.”

Are Supermarkets Really the Culprit?

Despite the mainstream narrative of blaming supermarkets for rising prices, some experts have pointed out it was the government that caused inflation in the first place.

In an opinion piece for The Epoch Times, Graham Young, the executive director of the Australian Institute for Progress, said the government pumped a massive amount of money into the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The excessive supply of money, coupled with a supply shock due to a disruption of worldwide logistics, later caused inflation to reach a record high of eight percent in December 2022.

Mr. Young also noted that other government policies implemented during and after the pandemic contributed to inflation.

“They allowed out-of-control immigration to collide with overly ambitious spending plans, re-regulation of some sectors of the economy, dauntingly generous public sector wage settlements, and tampering in energy markets, to push in the other direction,” he said.

“All of this was aided and abetted by the trade unions and will only get worse if the inaptly named, ‘Closing the Loopholes’ industrial relations legislation, is passed.”

Pointing to the 2.5 percent profit after tax of Coles and Woolworths, Mr. Young said supermarkets’ pricing strategy was not responsible for the cost of living crisis.

“If ‘price gouging’ were driving inflation, then you would expect the increase in food and groceries to be greater than the general rate of inflation,” he said.

“Yet in the year from September 2022 to September 2023, the CPI (consumer price index) increased 5.4 percent, while that of food and non-alcoholic beverages was only 4.8 percent.”