Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths will soon face a Senate inquiry into whether they have been price gouging consumers during a cost of living crisis. Both companies raked in over $1 billion in profits this year.
“For too long the big supermarkets have had too much market power. This allows them to dictate prices and terms that are hitting people hard,” said Tasmanian Senator for the Greens Nick McKim, who organised the inquiry.
“[It] is a critical step toward dismantling the market concentration that’s led to unfair pricing and stifled competition.
“We’ll find a way to dismantle their power and bring grocery prices down,” he finished, per Guardian Australia.
Both Coles and Woolies have repeatedly claimed that they are not guilty of price gouging, and have instead insisted there are other reasons for their soaring profits, including “internal productivity savings”, per the Sydney Morning Herald.
The “supermarket giants”, as they are commonly known, represent a staggering two-thirds of total industry revenue in Australia.
Aldi, the next closest competitor, cops just 10 per cent of market share.
McKim is among a growing group of politicians who have been critical of the supermarket giants.
Last month, Labor’s Bill Shorten also voiced his support for extra oversight.
“I have a nagging concern that they [Coles and Woolworths] are using the smokescreen of inflation to increase their prices,” the Minister for Government Services on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing.
“In other words, you’d almost call it greedflation.”
Even the Coalition’s David Littleproud got in on the action, calling for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Speaking to PEDESTRIAN.TV, the ACCC said it was aware of reports over price discrepancies, but that past attempts to regulate prices have proven “disastrous”.
Another common thread in this debate over what’s causing supermarket price increases is the role of suppliers.
To this end, farmers are also scratching their heads, with many not seeing the price increases on shelves reflected in their income.
“When you see big companies whether it’s banks or other corporations making billions of dollars profit and some parts of the community aren’t, it goes back to that transparency and [you ask] ‘well how is this working out for everyone across the supply chain?” National Farmer’s Federation chief executive Tony Mahar told the ABC.
Down down, Coles and Woolworths are going down … to Parliament house to face the Senate inquiry.
