The Coalition will stand up for Australian small businesses, farmers, and consumers by delivering stronger penalties for anti-competitive behaviour in the supermarket and hardware sectors.
Today, we announce the Coalition will introduce sector-specific divestiture powers as a last resort to manage supermarket behaviour and address supermarket price-gouging.
Divestiture powers will address serious allegations of land banking, anti-competitive discounting, and unfairly passing costs onto suppliers.
The time for this policy has come.
Inflation in Australia is high and rising, putting pressure on household budgets, and forcing families to make tough decisions.
Under the Albanese Labor Government - which promised the Australian people that life would be "cheaper" under Labor - food prices have actually increased by 11.4 per cent. The cost of everyday essentials at the supermarket checkout has increased. And this winter, many Australian families are choosing between heating or eating.
It doesn't have to be this way.
The measures we announce today are about restoring fairness for consumers, for families, for suppliers, and for farmers.
The Coalition's divestiture powers will have appropriate safeguards in place, ensuring divestiture won't lead to a loss of jobs and services.
The Coalition will also strengthen the Food and Grocery Code by making it mandatory for supermarket chains with annual turnover of more than $5 billion for the current signatories - Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and Metcash. Supermarkets will face infringement notices of up to $2 million for contraventions of the Code.
Tougher civil penalties for supermarkets will apply to contraventions of the mandatory industry code, starting from $10 million.
These punitive penalties will be backed by a Supermarket Commissioner, who will act as an impartial confidential avenue for farmers and suppliers.
This new appointment will be created to address the fear retribution for speaking out against supermarkets. A Supermarket Commissioner will provide information and receive complaints, which can then be provided to the ACCC.
The Coalition believes families and consumers deserve access to affordable fresh food, and farmers and suppliers deserve fair prices - without supermarket interference or price-gouging.
The Coalition is committed to delivering competition policy which supports consumers and smaller businesses - not the big corporations and lobbyists.
Competitive markets benefit everyone by ensuring lower prices, creating more employment opportunities, and fostering innovation.
This policy aligns Australia with our major trading partners, ensuring Australians get a fairer go.
This is part of the Coalition's plan to get Australia's economy back on track.
