Newsroom

May 8, 2024

KATTER’S Australian Party MP Bob Katter, who has championed the push for supermarket divestiture for more than a decade, has doubled down on his calls for the major supermarkets to be forced to reduce their market share, while shifting corporate oversight powers away from ASIC and ACCC to the Australian Federal Police.

Mr Katter’s calls come as the Senate Select Committee on Supermarket Prices handed down its report on Tuesday, making what the North Queensland MP described as “weak” recommendations, including divestiture as a possible penalty if supermarkets engage in “unconscionable conduct,” increasing funding to the ACCC and allowing it to investigate trading practices, and making the grocery code of conduct mandatory.

Mr Katter said despite receiving wide crossbench support for his ‘forced and staged’ divestiture legislation in March, ultimately this measure was knocked back the major parties. In his legislation, Mr Katter called for forced divestment of the major supermarkets, over a five-year period, down to a market share of 20 per cent each.

“Divestiture needs to happen now – it must be forced, staged and have market share limits. It’s future must not be subject to lengthy and costly court battles with the government and supermarkets throwing large sums of money to argue the meanings of ‘unconscionable conduct,’ ‘misuse of market power’ or ‘reasonableness”.

“Meanwhile, this report is suggesting divestiture as a potential penalty, if they’re caught ‘misusing their market power’ or ‘engaged in unconscionable conduct’.

“A farmer is getting 45c per kilo for their potatoes, meanwhile Coles and Woolworths are charging over $4.50 – more than 800 per cent mark up.

“If that’s not ‘unconscionable’ then I don’t know what is. I mean does anyone seriously believe we’ll actually see action against the supermarkets with this?

“We need immediate legislation that requires the disclosure of the price paid to the producer (and associated costs) and the price charged to the consumer – strictly limiting the mark-up to 100 per cent.

“As for making the grocery code of conduct mandatory, well what’s that going to achieve when all the major supermarkets are already signatories to the voluntary code?”

Mr Katter said the the Grocery Code offered little more than self-regulation by the supermarket giants.

“Making the Code ‘mandatory’ is simply window dressing, all the supermarket giants are already signatories. ‘Increased penalties’ are only useful if there is an independent, powerful and proven enforcement body. It will still be Ceaser judging Ceaser.

“And recommending the ACCC be given powers to investigate trading practices is like telling a government to govern – that’s their job, and they have continually let Australian producers and consumers down. Yet the recommendations propose rewarding them with increased resources.

“That’s why a strong enforcement body – such as the AFP must be appointed to make draw charges against corporate wrongdoing and follow through with prosecution in the courts.”

Mr Katter said he noted the report also made recommendations towards amending merger laws which he said were like “closing the gate after the horse has bolted.”

“It's a bit late to be putting merger laws in now when there is only four or five people supplying electricity in Australia, where there's only two people supplying telecommunications, Foxtel completely dominates pay television, Qantas is almost a monopoly in Australia, Woolworths and Coles - if they're not a duopoly, they're certainly part of an oligopoly, Chemist Warehouse and Terry White in the supply of pharmaceuticals in Australia, and four banks run the show.

“Whatever is left out there - it almost doesn't matter - they're just the luxuries.”

Photo: Clark MP Andrew Wilkie and Kennedy MP Bob Katter introduced legislation to cap the market share, and divest the major supermarkets, in March; the Reducing Supermarket Dominance Bill 2024.