Grocery giants are accused of stifling other stores. Qld could step in
By Matt Dennien
The news
Queensland is considering how it can exert greater influence in the supermarket sector, including planning-related interventions for big retailers, and promotion of smaller counterparts where competition is lacking.
Announcing the state’s smaller-scale version of the federal supermarket pricing inquiry in January, Premier Steven Miles said he was seeking advice on the state’s limited powers and how they could be better used.
Senior figures from Woolworths and Coles – with 65 per cent market share between them – faced eight hours of questions on Monday. Tuesday saw smaller operators step up.Credit: Getty
In a statement to Brisbane Times – which has repeatedly asked what the request delivered – a government spokesperson said on Tuesday the advice confirmed the state had powers “to regulate price transparency, consumer information, and supermarket industry conduct”.
“The government also has the power to intervene in the entry or expansion of retailers, and to promote smaller retailers into areas lacking competition,” the spokesperson said.
Why it matters
With politicians facing pressure to address public concerns over rising grocery bills – as farmgate prices fall – most powers fall in the federal government’s sphere rather than at the state level.
So far, action in this space has involved a Greens-led Senate inquiry into alleged price gouging by grocery giants Woolworths and Coles, a review of the supermarket code of conduct, due next month, and a year-long investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
While Miles has acknowledged the state’s more limited powers, he says he hopes to see “practical recommendations” when the probe delivers its report by May 31.
The LNP has also called for Queensland’s supermarket inquiry to be expanded to include other cost-of-living areas.
“There will be more to do in this space, once the Queensland supermarket inquiry has delivered its report and recommendations.”
Queensland government spokesperson
What they said
Questions put to representatives of smaller supermarket chains IGA and Foodworks by counsel assisting the inquiry, Angus Scott, KC, and MPs on Tuesday included issues around the community benefits test and competition elements of planning laws.
Luke Mackenzie, the government relations manager of IGA operator Metcash, told the committee the state should better define and “beef up” these measures to reflect what communities want them to do, beyond just considering population.
Metcash’s Luke Mackenzie and Roy Leisk, Roz White from White’s IGA Group, and Aldi’s Jordan Lack appeared at the inquiry on Tuesday.Credit: AAP
He pointed to examples on the Sunshine Coast, where Woolworths, Coles, or a developer on their behalf, bought up land in “paddocks” seeking to have them rezoned to build large stores and associated shopping centres, leaving existing, more central, ones to “wither on the vine”.
Mackenzie also called on the committee to demand the ACCC “unwind” what he described as an “acquisition” by Coles in its recent purchase of a shopping centre on Milton’s Baroona Road – home to a now-closed IGA store – and its application to expand it to accommodate a larger “Coles local” store.
Another point of view
Amid Monday’s marathon eight-hour day of inquiry questions, split between senior figures from Woolworths and Coles – which have 65 per cent of the market share between them, compared to Aldi’s 10 per cent and Metcash’s 7 per cent – both stood by their property strategies.
Asked by Scott whether the Milton situation and expiring of IGA’s lease represented an instance of uncompetitive behaviour by Coles, public affairs head Adam Fitzgibbons said: “I think it represents the normal, ordinary course of commercial relationships.”
Fitzgibbons said an analysis by Coles over the past decade had found 13 instances of a competitor taking over a Coles lease, and just five where Coles took over the lease of a competitor.
What you need to know
Under Queensland law, Planning Minister Meaghan Scanlon also has the power to pass the management of a development application from councils to the department – with mandatory consultation – for public and private “community supporting infrastructure”.
Miles’ third-term Labor government, facing an election in October, has already announced a trial farmgate price-monitoring scheme, to be run by the peak Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers industry group, alongside negotiation training for farmers.