Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Hansard source

GroceryWatch, which was renamed GROCERYchoice, was a dog from day 1. It was government spin trying to make it look like they were doing something in tackling the overconcentrated grocery market that we have. It was just a front to not deal with the real issues of competition in the grocery sector in Australia. To be absolutely frank with you, it was an $8 million farce and an embarrassment to the government. Quite clearly, when they changed ministers they realised they were in trouble with this issue. From memory, they made the announcement on a Friday night. I do not think Choice was even aware of it. It was a debacle creating it; it was a debacle even getting rid of it. Quite clearly the government was trying to have a front so they could say they were doing something. But they did not address the real issues and the competition in the grocery market at all and still have not.

That was GroceryWatch. I would have thought you would have learnt from Fuelwatch. You had GroceryWatch, what is the next one—Boatwatch? Watching the boats come in—is that the next one you are going to have? What a farce; what a front. Seriously, you folks have to get beyond believing the spin yourselves and start to realise the Australian people want genuine reform that actually brings better competition—more competition, not less. In the grocery area, we still have overconcentration of the market and GroceryWatch was never going to deliver the goods, just like Fuelwatch did not. Let us hope you do not get caught up in something called Boatwatch—that would be an absolute farce.