Key points
- The treasurer has rejected new calls so that the competition control agency is granted divestment powers.
- He followed the Competition and Consumer Commission of Australia who launched its final supermarket research report.
- The ACCC found that important chains had few incentives to be competitive in prices, but did not recommend the divestment.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has doubled the rejection of the federal government of calls to break the large supermarkets, while work faces calls to increase their repression.
The renewed calls of green and national, which the government has – Come after the Competition and Consumer Commission of Australia (ACCC) in the supermarkets of Australia.
He found that important chains had few incentives to be competitive in prices due to their great market share, but did not recommend that divestment powers be granted.
The parties want the ACCC to receive divestment powers to increase competition and address what they say is the duopolistic control of the Colle and Woolworths sector sector.
The ACCC report did not use this term, but described the nation’s supermarket industry as an “oligopoly” because “most of the market is counted by a small number of participants.”
Chalmers told ABC News Breakfast on Friday: “The risks [of breaking up the supermarkets] overcome the benefits. “
“If you make one of the big chains sell in the community, there is a risk that the other great player in the supermarket sector recognizes it and that would be counterproductive,” he said.
“Or if you pursue the supermarket options outside the city in regional communities, it has hairs everywhere, frankly,” said Chalmers.
He said the Government accepted the 20 recommendations of the report, in principle, and was already taking substantial measures in most areas.
Others would take long delivery times and require consultation, which means that it can spend time before consumers notice changes in their daily store.
As part of the initial government response, Tuesday’s budget will include $ 2.9 million in three years to help educate suppliers on how to face supermarkets.
“Reward supermarkets is about getting a good opportunity for families in payment and farmers at the Gate of La Granja,” said Chalmers.
The senator of the national Bridget McKenzie wants the federal government to enter the powers of the divestments to break the main supermarkets. But Treasurer Jim Chalmers says that “the risks exceed benefits.” Fountain: AAPA / Mick Tsikas/Lucas Koch
Bea Sherwood, Consumer Group Choice’s Senior Policies and Campaigns Advisor, welcomed the reports of the report.
“I think people are still concerned about the cost of groceries, with approximately 80 percent of Australian households concerned about the cost of food and edible,” he told SBS News.
“The ACCC has recommended regulating special confusing, introducing the notices of reproots to ensure that consumers know when the price remains the same or increases when the product is reduced in size and improves the transparency of prices.
“It is clear that supermarkets will establish the prices they like to establish and do not transmit these savings to consumers.”
Renewed called to the powers of divestment as he criticized the repression of the government
The senator of the nationals, Bridget McKenzie, said that Labor’s repression should go further, saying that Chalmers’s response was “very flaccid.”
“We put a very complete proposal on the table to address the lack of competition in the sector of our supermarket that the government could not collect,” he told Sky News.
“I did not hear the word sanctions. I did not hear any difficult measure that really put a very strong incentive so that our supermarkets behave better.”
The senator of the Greens, Nick McKim, said that the diverse powers would be “the final tool in the set of tools for regulators.”
“So when markets are too concentrated and lead to bad results for consumers … they can break when necessary,” he said.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has promised to give the commission powers to uninvert the main chains to address anti -competitive behavior if he wins the next federal elections.
Sherwood receded the plans of the coalition and said that the approach should be in the “immediate” measures that will help consumers.
“I think that a divestment power would really be complex to design and it is not clear if it would really be used in this case,” he said.
“Our focus on choice are changes that can immediately make the difference for consumers because we know they are difficult.”
Supermarkets respond to the ACCC report
The report says there was no “silver bullet”, which delivered a set of recommendations to address four areas of wide broadcast.
The increase in transparency, such as the mandatory publication of the size and size of the package, would do so and noticed.
The ACCC report also recommended financial support for community stores to improve the choice and supply in remote areas.
Colles and Woolworths have strongly rejected the price break claims, arguing that their favorite profitability metrics showed that their margins are comparable to their peers in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“Coles believes that Australia’s groceries is highly competitive, it is rapidly evolving and offers consumers a greater option than ever,” said the supermarket in a statement.
Coles also warned against measures that “will increase bureaucracy and increase costs.”
The Woolworth CEO, Amanda Bardwell, welcomed the recommendations that improved transparency for customers “where they have no involuntary consequences.”
Other ‘concerned’ supermarkets about the growing domain
Anna McGrath, CEO of Aldi Australia, said in the report “confirmed Aldi’s role in providing Australians with high quality products at daily low prices.”
The ACCC recognized Aldi as a “hard discount” that provided an important source of price restriction in Colles and Woolworths.
Meanwhile, a Metcah spokesman, owner of IgA supermarkets, said the company was “pleased” of ACCC had recognized the importance of independent supermarkets.
“Particularly the competitive role played by independents in many local communities where they can better adapt their range and offer the preference of the premises,” said the spokesman.
“We are also concerned about the growing dominance of the main supermarket chains in Australia and their ability to continue growing through progressive acquisitions of independents and land banking.”
– With the presentation of reports from Australian Associated Press
