Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Every kid growing up in Queensland knows what it feels like to get out of the pool on a hot summer's day, to finish your swimming lesson and to jump up to the canteen to get the big python—to eat a python, which is the Queensland way! When you eat that python, it's so big that you could stretch it and it'd almost be as big as yourself. I went to the Dunlop pool in my local electorate with my daughter, Margaret, and we bought her first python, but it wasn't big enough to stretch. It was much smaller than that. It looked like a tiny version of what I remember growing up.

This is shrinkflation. Today's marketplace can be a difficult landscape, full of hard-to-spot risks and traps for consumers. We have to be on guard against practices like scams, supermarket price-gouging and shrinkflation. This is particularly important when one of the places Australians most feel the sting of cost-of-living pressures is at the checkout. It's not just at the checkout but at the bowser, at the ATM and at so many places. People and families are doing it tough. That's why the Labor Albanese government is focused on making sure that Australians have strong and reliable consumer protections that actually work in the real world. These protections help people steer clear of misleading behaviour, of dodgy products and of unfair treatment. It gives everyone more confidence that when they shop or when they sign up for services they will be protected and they will be treated fairly. Fair, modern consumer rules don't just help households. They also lift the whole economy up. When businesses play by the same rules, it creates a fair, competitive marketplace where small businesses can thrive and customers can enjoy better quality, lower prices and, critically, more innovation.

Let's talk about supermarkets. Labor is holding supermarkets to account to make sure that consumers get a fair deal. It's all part of our commitment to help with the cost of living, our No. 1 priority. We're making price-gouging illegal. A new rule banning supermarkets from charging excessive prices for groceries will officially kick in from 1 July 2026. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's supermarkets inquiry found that Coles and Woolies do not have strong incentives to seriously compete on price and that their dominance in the grocery sector is unlikely to shift any time soon. This new ban is designed to act as a safeguard for consumers in a market where genuine competition can be limited.

The new law amends the food and grocery code of conduct from pricing products well over what they should be when the cost of supply and a reasonable margin is considered. This builds on Labor's other work to protect Australian consumers, such as making the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct mandatory from 1 April 2025. These changes put real safeguards in place for farmers and suppliers, with tough penalties to keep the big supermarkets in line when they break the rules. It also tackles the longstanding power imbalance between major grocery retailers and the people who supply them. The updated rules introduce stronger protections against retaliation, along with improved dispute resolution processes so suppliers have clearer pathways to raise concerns and to get fair treatment. We've strengthened unit pricing so shoppers can compare prices quickly and confidently. This means clearer, more consistent unit pricing on supermarket shelves, helping Australians spot genuine value and avoid being ripped off.

Labor is also taking aim at unfair trading practices. We're focusing on protecting consumers from free trials and subscriptions that are hiding surprise charges. Businesses will be required to outline all the information before a customer signs up. This includes clear and upfront information about mandatory transaction fees. They will also have to provide alerts when free trials are ending and make cancelling a subscription easier.

The Albanese Labor government is committed to ensuring strong protections for Australian consumers. Australians deserve a fair go. It's one of the principles that underpin who we are. They deserve to be shielded from misleading behaviour, unsafe products and unfair practices.

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