The recent announcement of an ACCC inquiry into the behaviour of supermarkets was most certainly a welcome one.
However, it was too late as the Labor government waited until January to compel the consumer watchdog to conduct a 12-month inquiry into supermarkets.
This is despite the fact The Nationals had been calling for an investigation for months leading into Christmas as well as an offer to support a move to bring forward the review into the grocery code of conduct.
Since then, producers have come forward, through programs like ABC’s Four Corners, to share their stories of how they have been bullied by the supermarket giants and forced to either comply with their demands or walk away from their industries altogether.
Sadly, stories like these are common across the country and are why the ACCC should investigate supermarket practices and recommend greater punishments when they step out of line.
This behaviour is nothing new and the major supermarkets have form in this space such as when they introduced $1 per litre milk, something that destroyed the dairy industry.
Even as recently as this week, we have seen this attack on the dairy industry continue with Woolworths announcing it would be removing Norco dairy products from about 150 of its metropolitan stores.
This is despite the fact Woolworths recently announced an overall half-year net profit of $929 million while Coles reported a half-year net profit of $589 million.
The Nationals have been calling for the introduction of big-stick legislation that would include divestiture powers that could see these supermarkets lose side businesses such as Big W and Dan Murphy’s if they act inappropriately.Authorised by David Littleproud, Warwick, Queensland
However, it’s appalling to hear the Prime Minister say that on the one hand if the ACCC asks for more powers, “my government’s up for giving it to them” and that the head of the ACCC “would be prepared to exercise those powers”, while on the other he rules out divestiture powers before a report is even handed down.
This just shows that this government doesn’t fully grasp what is happening to those producers being held hostage by the supermarkets, nor does it understand just how badly consumers are hurting at the checkout.
The Prime Minister continues to say that cost of living is his number one priority, but it’s difficult to believe that when he won’t put his money where his mouth is on this issue and act in a way that will have long-term benefits for producers and consumers alike.
