The Greens’ attempt to break up Coles and Woolworths‘ supermarket duopoly partnership has been unsuccessful, after it was voted against in the Senate by both Liberal and Labor senators. Ugh, I hate when people support a toxic couple.
Proposed by Greens Senator Nick McKim back in March, if passed the bill would have granted powers to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) so it could break up companies abusing their market power.
This would include the supermarket giants of Coles and Woolworths, who have been accused of price gouging in order to make billion-dollar profits.
“This isn’t a controversial or radical proposition. The UK has this power, and the US has been using it for well over a century,” said McKim in March.
“The very existence of divestiture powers will mean that dominant supermarkets, banks or energy companies will think twice about pocketing higher margins and instead pass on savings to their customers.”
Fascinatingly, as the bill was debated in the Senate, Australian politics saw the coming together of two unlikely friends to try and get the bill to pass.
Senators Ross Cadell and Matt Canavan both joined the Greens in voting for the proposed legislation.
In case you don’t know politics well, this is like if Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift both teamed up against Kanye. Or (for the nerds) it would be like when Legolas the elf and Gimli the dwarf became friends in Lord of the Rings to fight Sauron.
Unfortunately, the joined forces of the Greens and Nats were not enough to pass the bill, and as both Labor and the Libs voted against it, it failed to get up.
Labor and Liberal, the Coles and Woolworths of Australian politics, have just voted down the Greens’ Bill to break up the supermarket duopoly.
— Nick McKim (@NickMcKim) June 26, 2024
Thanks to the Crossbench and Nationals senators who supported us. Not a single Nationals Senator opposed the Bill.
However as McKim pointed out on social media, the unlikely partnership between the Greens and Nats does follow a huge precent for change.
“Last time something like this happened, we ended up with a Royal Commission into the banks,” wrote McKim.
“Watch this space.”
Though this bill failed, similar ones are able to be reintroduced to the Senate.
The two political parties may not agree together on much, but when they unite against a common foe (Colesworth), shit happens.
And for the sake of Aussies trying to afford groceries during this endless cost of living crisis, some shit happening again is more than welcome.
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