Belinda Neal (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for that invigorating address, Member for Cowper! I rise to speak in the chamber today in opposition to the motion moved by the member for Cowper. The cost of groceries is a real issue that certainly impacts on the lives of many Australians. An average Australian household spends between 12 and 14 per cent of their disposable income on groceries. The average growth in grocery prices over the last 10 years has been well ahead of the CPI. This is a worrying trend and one that is putting pressure on many household budgets. This problem is exacerbated by the concentration of the grocery industry in Australia. Coles and Woolworths together make up about 60 per cent of the market. This means that the knowledge to choose is becoming even more important.

This government recognises that it is a problem and has taken action to address the problem. Labor believes that the government can best assist consumers by informing them that they can act in their own interests when selecting what products to purchase. That is why this Labor government has acted to help out consumers and to better inform them on the choices that they make. This will improve the community’s capacity to determine where the cheapest groceries are available in their region. In August this year, the government announced the establishment of the GROCERYchoice website. The sum of $12.9 million has been provided to create and maintain the website and also to survey grocery products over the next four years. We are putting more information into the public domain. This was the delivery of the commitment made by the government while still in opposition.

This website was established to provide independent information on the cost of a basket of goods in 66 supermarket outlets. There are approximately 500 products being monitored. The products are divided into seven typical baskets which reflect the weekly grocery choices of the average Australian household. These goods and their prices are surveyed in 61 regions across Australia; therefore, you can go into the website as a consumer and see whether Coles, Woolworths, Franklins, IGA or one of the other supermarkets is cheaper that particular month in your region. The exact items which form part of the baskets are not disclosed so as to preserve the integrity of the process. Obviously, if the grocery items were known, the retailer could manipulate the system by dramatically reducing the price of particular items in the basket and therefore skew the results. This would mean that consumers would be duped rather than assisted by the site.

I have to say that I continue to be amazed by the coalition members opposite, part of the old and tired Howard government, who took no action themselves during their 12 years in government to deal with this issue and only have a negative and carping approach to the government’s positive actions. Would the coalition deny consumers access to this valuable information? Whose interests are they putting forward if they are not interested in assisting consumers to make a real choice? With this whingeing view of grocery choices, the opposition are showing that they are out of touch with the community, because their views are not shared by the community, by consumers, by consumer advocates or even by economic commentators. CHOICE, the leading consumer group, responded positively to the price watch in their release of 5 August, saying:

The grocery price website has the potential to increase competition in the sector ... Consumers who choose to use the GROCERYchoice website will be able to accurately gauge which supermarket in their area is the cheapest for various baskets of goods.

Also, on Thursday, 7 August Alan Kohler said:

Poking around the ACCC’s new Grocery Choice website that was launched this morning, one thing becomes instantly clear: it is not a stunt, as Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson says.

Alan Kohler then went on to say:

And the truth, collected by ACCC contractors with notebooks going around supermarkets all over Australia once a month, is both enlightening and very powerful—as the truth can be sometimes.

But, most importantly, the jaded view of the opposition towards GroceryWatch is not shared by consumers, who are voting with their feet or, should I say, with their fingers. Consumers have accessed the GROCERYchoice website over four million times since its establishment. This is a real testament to the need in our community for real information about grocery prices and also to the value placed on this information by consumers.

This government does not guarantee that prices will come down from their present levels. The biggest impacts on grocery prices are international factors and climate events like drought, and of course we accept that these are beyond the government’s control. But this site gives consumers the information they need so that they are not going to be ripped off. What can be said is that consumers have accurate information about the price of groceries at different stores, and this will put downward pressure on prices and foster real competition.

This site has had its teething problems. When the site was first posted, some issues were raised about the layout of the site and accessibility for those with sight disabilities. These issues have now been remedied, and the site will continue to be sensitive to consumer needs. It will need to be improved over time to be the most useful for consumers that it can be. I have to say that I am surprised by the member for Cowper and his lack of support for this initiative. I know that many of his constituents are doing it tough, and I am sure that they could do with some help on grocery prices.

The most important principle is that this government is genuinely concerned about the real issues that working families face and the challenges that they have in balancing their budgets. This Labor government is taking action to empower consumers and to give them real choice. GROCERYchoice is only part of a range of initiatives being taken by this government to assist consumers. We have seen the introduction of a range of initiatives to help consumers which I am very proud of, including the ACCC inquiry into grocery prices, which was the most comprehensive inquiry into the supermarket sector since Federation and gave rise to this website.

The clarity and pricing legislation, which I spoke about last week, limits component pricing. Reforms have passed the House that will finally give the consumer accurate information about the total price that they will pay. The product safety issue, which has been furthered by the Assistant Treasurer, has delivered a national product safety reform package which will see our national product safety laws applied across the nation. The Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs has delivered a national consumer law which will see one consumer law based on the consumer protection provisions of the Trade Practices Act. These will apply across the nation, will also include an unfair contract provision and will apply to all sectors of the economy with the exception of the finance services sector.

The Productivity Commission has estimated that taking these steps could result in benefits to Australian consumers and businesses of up to $4.5 billion a year. This government is acting, not just complaining.

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