Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that the Government is taking strong action to protect Australian consumers and ensure fairer markets by:

(a) banning unfair trading practices economy wide that cost Australians time and money;

(b) ending dodgy subscription traps by ensuring that consumers get clear information upfront, timely reminders before free trials end, and a cancellation process that is just as easy as signing up;

(c) ending drip pricing by requiring businesses to display the full transaction costs upfront ensuring consumers know exactly what they are paying for;

(d) strengthening consumer guarantees so Australians get products that work, repairs that are fair, and refunds they are entitled to;

(e) banning supermarket price gouging from l July 2026 to prohibit very large retailers from charging excessive prices;

(f) cracking down on shrinkflation, so companies cannot disguise price increases by reducing package sizes while charging the same, or more;

(g) making unit pricing clearer and more consistent, backed by penalties for non-compliance, so consumers can spot real value at a glance and are not misled by tricky labels; and

(h) consulting on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's recommendations to boost transparency on prices, promotions and loyalty programs at supermarkets, making it easier for Australians to assess value for money; and

(2) supports this comprehensive consumer protection agenda designed to deliver fairer prices, more competition, and a better deal for Australians.

Strong markets rely on trust. They rely on clear information, genuine competition and the confidence of the people who participate in them every day. Strong consumer laws are a foundation stone of that trust. They ensure Australians are treated fairly, protected from misleading conduct and able to participate in markets with confidence. When consumers have that confidence, competition improves, prices fall, quality rises and innovation should follow.

That's why the government has placed consumer protection at the centre of its cost-of-living agenda. Cost-of-living pressure is not only driven by wages and interest rates but also shaped by whether markets are transparent, contracts are clear and consumers can make informed choices. It's about whether the price displayed is the price actually paid; whether a household can manage its budget by cancelling, for example, subscriptions that it doesn't need—and can do so without the hassle—and whether the weekly shopping reflects genuine competition rather than concentrated market power in the terms that are dictated by it.

The government is committed to taking on dodgy business tactics by banning unfair trading practices that cost Australians time and money. We're ending, for example, subscription traps by requiring the clear disclosure of key terms before signing up, reminders before free trial periods end and cancellation processes that are just as easy as signing up. We're ending drip pricing by requiring unavoidable transaction fees to be displayed prominently and upfront so Australians know the real price before they buy. We're strengthening consumer guarantees so that, when products fail, Australians get the repair, replacement or refund that they're entitled to, backed by civil penalties and stronger enforcement powers. Manufacturers will be required to reimburse suppliers for the cost of providing those remedies, ensuring small businesses aren't left bearing the financial burden of faults they didn't create. These changes protect consumers while also supporting the many businesses that already compete fairly and transparently.

Nowhere is the need for fairness more visible than at the supermarket check-out. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's supermarkets inquiry provided clear evidence of structural issues confronting the sector, and here's what the ACCC told us:

That's pretty damning.

Australians feel cost-of-living pressures most acutely when they buy food for their family. So, when the regulator tells us that anticompetitive behaviour is set to continue for the foreseeable future, we've got to be able to step in, and we've done so. We made the food and grocery code mandatory, for example, and we've increased the ACCC's funding—more than $30 million—to help it investigate misleading pricing and bad-faith conduct. We've backed in CHOICE to publish quarterly price-monitoring reports so shoppers can compare baskets of goods, and from 1 July 2026 we'll ban price gouging by supermarkets, prohibiting them from charging prices that are excessive when compared to the cost of supply plus a reasonable margin. Further work is underway to improve transparency around promotions, loyalty programs and price trends, reflecting concerns raised through the ACCC inquiry. Reforms to merger notification and planning barriers are aimed at making it easier for new competitors to enter the market, strengthening long-term competitive pressure. Australians shouldn't be treated like mugs at the check-out. They deserve transparency.

Work is also progressing on extending unfair-trading protections to small businesses and franchisees and on removing non-compete clauses for lower income workers, supporting mobility, competition and productivity. All these reflect a consistent principle that well-functioning markets require strong competition and strong consumer protection. All in all, this is a government that backs everyday consumers, with a track record to prove it. I commend the motion to the House.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

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

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

():  I thank the member for Chifley for bringing this motion to the House. For five challenging years, Australian families have weathered high prices to keep the lights on, put a roof over their heads and put food on the family table. In times like these, strong consumer protections are essential. There's no good time to get ripped off. But, in a prolonged cost-of-living crisis, Australian consumers need fairness, transparency and accountability more than ever. Demanding strong protections for Australian consumers means drawing a line between profit and profiteering. It does not begrudge businesses from turning a profit. But, when families are standing in the aisle of a supermarket wondering whether they can afford a block of cheese, something has gone wrong.

We can't talk about consumer vulnerability without taking a good, hard look at the premier duopoly of Australian corporations: Coles and Woolies. The ACCC has found that our grocery giants are among the most profitable in the world, that their product margins have grown over the last five years and that they have limited incentive to compete with each other on price. When our biggest providers of household essentials are posting billion-dollar profits in a cost-of-living crisis, we are entitled to feel that the only thing that is going 'down, down' is trust in Coles and Woolies. Prices are certainly not 'down, down'. A block of cheese will set you back almost $15. Two litres of milk is pushing $7, and you won't get much change out of $20 for a litre of olive oil. It's $20 for a chocolate bunny. It's no wonder that some people are saying that Easter has been cancelled.

In recent years, we've also seen the damage done by Qantas, another flagship Australian business, selling tickets on cancelled flights, accumulating enormous profits while receiving COVID related taxpayer subsidies and slot hoarding to block its competitors. Qantas has been on the nose, and Australians have demanded better. They've wanted to know why this government has not legislated mandatory compensation for delayed and cancelled flights and why it has failed to address the airline duopoly. When a flight is significantly delayed in Canada, every passenger receives $400. In the US, it's $100. In the EU, it's a full refund and 250 Euros. Those payments are made within days of a delayed or cancelled flight. In Australia, we're lucky to get a $20 meal voucher. Airlines would be much less likely to cancel or delay flights or engage in slot hoarding if they had to pay up to $100,000 in compensation per flight. The Albanese government has failed to put in place the one measure which could have transformed how airlines deal with delays at domestic airports and to provide Australian consumers with the protections that they deserve.

Progress has also been slow on banking protections. The Hayne royal commission exposed the massive harms that unregulated banking activity and other poor banking practices have caused for ordinary Australians, but it has taken years to achieve adequate protection against scams, and banks are still often placing the burden of fraud on customers. Australian consumers are still struggling to trust our banks. They feel that the big four, in particular, prioritise profits over customer outcomes. They cite excessive fees, unfair charges, poor service and unethical lending practices. Nearly three-quarters of Australians have lost trust in banks, with younger consumers aged between 18 and 54 and those under financial pressure being the most sceptical about their actions. ASIC has also highlighted poor practices for customers experiencing financial hardship, and the Commonwealth and the NAB have both recently been involved in fraudulent home-loan activities involving AI forgeries, an issue which is likely to cause further loss of trust in our banking processes.

Australians know that rising living costs are squeezing household budgets and increasing hardship in our communities. At times like these, strong consumer protections aren't just desirable; they're essential. All Australians deserve fairness, transparency and accountability at the supermarket, at the bank and at the airport. And all Australians need their government to ensure adequate consumer protection and fair trading practices.

Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to address the consumer protection measures laid out by the government. At the outset, I want to acknowledge that much of what is contained in this agenda is, frankly, the right thing to do. Whether it's banning unfair trading practices, ending the cynical trap of dodgy subscriptions or finally cracking down on the sneaky practice of shrinkflation, these are commonsense wins. Common sense is not something you typically associate with Labor, the Greens and the teals. However, it is one thing to tinker with the fine print in a comfortable Canberra office; it is quite another to provide regional customers with anything like the same level of protections as those in the cities. While the government pats itself on the back for protecting the suburban shopper, it is presiding over a systematic failure of consumer protections for regional Australians who are paying for services they simply do not receive.

Let's talk about telecommunications. Labor talk about 'strengthening' consumer guarantees, yet they have overseen the most botched consumer transition in our history: the 3G shutdown. The minister promised equivalent coverage. I invite the minister to come to Weetulta or come to Tarcowie and tell them that the silence on their phones is equivalent. The 4G rollout wasn't finished before the 3G plug was pulled. Families are forking out thousands for Starlink or expensive boosters just to get the basic signal they used to have for free. Where is the consumer protection for them? In Tarcowie this isn't just an inconvenience; it's a threat to life. In 2004, three residents died while alone. In those instances, limited reception was a major concern for emergency response. This doesn't sound like consumer protection. If a supermarket drip-feeds a $2 fee or Netflix increases their cost, this government pounces. But, when a telco takes money from a farmer and leaves them unable to make calls to an ambulance, the government looks the other way and has nothing to say.

This brings me to the second half of this crisis: the total failure of our regional power grid. While the state and federal governments obsess over a reckless push towards net zero, the basics of grid stability in South Australia have been left to rot. In the Yorke Peninsula and the mid-north, we aren't just worried about unfair trading practices; we are worried about the lights staying on.

Early this year, the wholesale electricity price in SA spiked to over $20,000 per megawatt hour. That is the highest spot price ever recorded. Last week I was with Senator Kerrynne Liddle at the SIMEC mining operations near Whyalla. This is where the hematite and magnetite is coming from to feed the steelworks. At full noise, this mine consumes 50 megawatt hours. At over $20,000 per hour, that is a million dollars an hour, removing any chance they have of making any money that month. So SIMEC employs engineers to predict the weather, hence they shut down the operations when there is no wind and no solar in the grid. That is the reality of a wind-and-solar-only grid. Intermittent renewables cannot be compared with base-load energy supply.

My constituents are paying premium prices for a Third World service. We are seeing constant outages caused by insulator pollution—dust and salt build-up on the lines—because of a lack of maintenance.

Last month I was in Minlaton to hear concerns of Yorke Peninsula locals. I can tell you the emotions were high. People are fed up. They are tired of paying for something that keeps on failing them. While some of these are state and supplier issues, the federal government needs to look at strengthening the consumer protections for power outages. Think of Lisa Martin, who runs the Minlaton Bakery—she lost $5,000 in a single day not just in trade but because of dumped stock—or Terri Thiel in Edithburgh, who lost her home to a power network fault fire in 2019 and now has to watch the lights flicker again.

These small businesses are customers too. They pay their bills. They suffer the loss of food, loss of stock and the threat of fire from flashovers. The SA Power Networks taskforce says it may take several years to fix these hotspots. I ask the minister: If Harvey Norman sold a consumer a fridge that only worked half the time and spoilt their food, would you protect them? Would they get a refund? While this isn't—well, that'll do, Deputy Speaker. I'm not going to get the next sentence in. Thanks.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you. The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made in order of the day for the next sitting.

Federation Chamber adjourned 19: 30