Jim Chalmers says funding boost to help competition watchdog crackdown on ‘unacceptable’ supermarket conduct

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says a multi-million dollar funding boost will help the competition watchdog crackdown on “unacceptable” misconduct by major supermarkets and give consumers a better chance of a “fair go” at the checkout.

The Government is also contemplating further changes to competition laws in a bid to further help shoppers.

“Misconduct in the supermarket sector is unfair. It’s unacceptable, and it makes cost of living pressures worse for Australians,” Dr Chalmers said on Tuesday while announcing a $30 million boost to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

He will also work with the states and territories to change planning and zoning regulations to crack down on “land banking,” in which large supermarket companies hold onto empty sites to prevent competitors from building there.

While he wouldn’t guarantee prices would go down because of the action, he said having a more powerful ACCC “gives us a much better chance of getting a fair go at the checkout for people”.

“We’re supporting more investigations and more enforcement in supermarket and retail sectors, which will empower the ACCC and allow it to monitor behaviour and investigate concerns about supermarkets and retailers falsely justifying higher prices,” he said.

The Treasurer said the ACCC had made it clear it could do a lot more to crack down on price gouging and monitor competition if it had more resources.

An ongoing “iterative” competition review may lead to more laws that strengthen the ACCC’s arm and put further pressure on lowering prices in supermarkets and other retail sectors.

“When good ideas emerge from that if we can implement them, we will,” Dr Chalmers said.

“We know that competition is a force for good in our economy, and we know that the more competitive the supermarkets are, the better chance we give people of getting a fairer go at the supermarket.”

The watchdog is suing the large grocery companies for allegedly running scam discount programs where the price of everyday products was briefly jacked up before it was slapped with discount stickers under Coles’ “Down, Down” campaign and Woolworths’ “Prices Dropped” promotion.

That meant the product appeared cheaper when, in fact, it was more expensive than before the short-term price spike.

The ACCC will also grill supermarket executives in public hearings later this year as part of its ongoing inquiry into the sector.

Dr Chalmers said bringing down prices was a big focus for the Government.

“I know from my own community how stressful it can be when people are at the checkout, watching the numbers steadily add up and hoping that they don’t have to put things back … if they breach their budget,” he said.

“We understand the stresses and strains that people are under right now, and that’s why addressing the cost of living pressures is still the government’s top priority.”