Time to rein in cowboy supermarkets

The way supermarkets set prices is done under a cloak of secrecy. We know that while people struggle to put food on the table, supermarkets have made record profits during a cost of living crisis.

The Senate Committee on Supermarket Prices starts in Hobart this week and I'm giving Tassie a voice at the table. The inquiry will get to the bottom of how supermarkets do business and how they deal with farmers and consumers.

It's been more than a decade since the big supermarkets have been brought under the microscope. This inquiry is an opportunity to get the answers everyone wants. It’ll figure out what governments can do to pull the supermarkets into line.

Almost everyone feels the challenge of affording food these days: mums and dads, students, employed and unemployed, and older Tasmanians. In fact, more than half of Tasmanians are going without food or taking out loans just to afford groceries.

Richard from Hobart wrote to the inquiry. He saw a young woman approached by police at New Town Woolworths after stealing toiletry items. Usually people would be outraged by shoplifting. But now more and more people can empathise with the struggles of making ends meet. I’m not saying that stealing is justified. But it’s clear rising prices at the checkout are causing people to take desperate action.

We also know that so many farmers are getting the raw end of the deal. Some farmers are forced to shut up shop, plough the paddocks, and turn their land into something that's more profitable. Because the major supermarkets aren’t paying them enough for their produce.

When there’s only two players in the game, they get to set the prices. In Tassie, we don't have the 'luxury' of being able to shop around; we don't have low-cost options like Aldi and Costco. We have Woolworths and Coles in an arms race. There are 32 Woolworths and 32 Coles in Tasmania. That's one big supermarket for just over every 8,000 Tasmanians!

The general rule of thumb is that the more competition, the lower the prices. When the supermarkets grow so big, it’s harder for the smaller ones to survive. The big two supermarkets can then use their power to outbid everyone else. This leads to a bad deal for farmers and for consumers too.

So how do we rein in the major supermarkets and stop it from being a cowboy industry? That’s what the Senate inquiry is going to find out. I’m going to be there for Tasmanians, holding the supermarkets to account and making sure we aren’t being ripped off.

Originally published in The Mercury on 6th March 2024. 

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