David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

By leave—I move amendments (1) to (3) and (4) to (6) on sheet 2041 together:

(1) Schedule 1, item 1, page 3 (line 6), omit "14", substitute "16".

(2) Schedule 1, item 2, page 3 (line 8), omit "14", substitute "16".

(3) Schedule 1, item 3, page 3 (line 10), omit "14", substitute "16".

(4) Schedule 1, item 4, page 3 (line 15), omit "20 September 2023", substitute "the commencement of this item".

(5) Schedule 1, item 4, page 3 (line 19), omit "20 September 2023", substitute "the commencement of this item".

(6) Schedule 1, item 4, page 3 (line 23), omit "20 September 2023", substitute "the commencement of this item".

I am also moving these amendments on behalf of Senator Rice; I understand the Greens will not be moving their own amendments that are very similar to these. I thank Senator Rice for her ongoing work in this area standing up for people in our communities across the country who desperately need more support to get their lives back together and stay on their feet. I would also like to acknowledge the member for North Sydney, Kylie Tink, for her work on this and for moving very similar amendments to these in the House of Representatives.

Minister, you rightly pointed to inflation as a big issue. We've seen numerous reports over the last few weeks and months about the effect that corporate profits are having on inflation in Australia. We have seen the banks making $60,000 a minute at the moment, and then we've seen—which is really troubling, and Australians across the country are feeling this every day—the supermarkets making more profits than any comparable supermarkets in developed countries.

I'd like to know what the government is planning to do to ensure that the duopoly of supermarkets is not ripping off Australians every day and making more profit than it should be, not only making life hard for Australians across the country but also, as we know from expert analysis, driving inflation.