When it comes to the idea of breaking up Australia’s supermarket duopoly, the Greens and the Nationals are unlikely bedfellows.
The National Party says it was for divestiture powers long before the Greens got involved — from its perspective, it’s about supporting the farmers that supply the food that Woolworths and Coles sell.
“In a situation where you have less and less competition, it ultimately leads to higher prices — and higher prices mean people are being screwed over,” former Nationals leader Michael McCormack told Crikey.
“Higher prices don’t necessarily mean farmers are getting more at the farm gate, and customers aren’t reaping any benefits at the cash registers either.”
So when the Greens launched a bill earlier this year that would give the government the power to break up the supermarket duopoly, the Nationals said they were for it. A report from a committee investigating the bill, released yesterday, recommended the powers be introduced.
However the Coalition’s dissenting statement attached to the report made it clear that the Liberals don’t necessarily agree with their junior partner.
The statement said “it is not the view of Coalition senators that the bill should be passed”, while adding, in a nod to the Nats’ position, that “the Coalition is not opposed to the principle of divestiture”.
McCormack said he suspected the issue would be brought up in the partyroom when Parliament returns next week, although he stressed he didn’t want to preempt any discussions.
“I think the fact that we’ve had this inquiry and the fact that light was shone brightly on what supermarket powers are, and the fact that farmers should be getting a better price for their labour and produce, I think that’s a good thing,” he said.
In March, The Sydney Morning Herald reported McCormack and party colleague Keith Pitt had applauded party leader David Littleproud for supporting the Greens’ bill.
McCormack said on Wednesday that Littleproud’s position was “of course praiseworthy”.
Littleproud told Sky News Regional on Wednesday the report validated the party’s position that divestiture powers would be a powerful deterrent to use as a last resort.
“The Nationals have for a long time believed in divestiture powers. This report simply validates that belief that we’ve had and what divestiture powers are, a last resort. They’re not something we just walk in now and split up Woolworths or Coles,” Littleproud said.
“That’s not the idea of it. It’s a deterrent. Like any deterrent, any penalty you put in, whether that be criminal and people going to jail, or whether it be in the corporate sense, that’s about a punitive financial penalty that should be put across them.”
In a separate development, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which is conducting it’s own inquiry into supermarket pricing and competition, said it’s about to make public the submissions it’s received from stakeholders and members of the public.
“The ACCC has received a number of submissions in response to its issues paper. It is reviewing those submissions and considering confidentiality claims made,” an ACCC spokesperson told Crikey.
“The ACCC will publish submissions on its website shortly, subject to resolution of confidentiality claims.”
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