Cost of living
Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (09:54): I recently went to compare grocery prices. A 2-kilogram pack of Cold Power laundry powder at the Reject Shop will set you back $12.50, yet if you go to Coles, it is double that – $24. A kilo of frozen peas you can get at Aldi for $2.59; go to Woolworths and the same product is $3.80. In fact it is the same across the board. I looked at dog food, pasta, juice, chips, pads – sanitary items – and groceries across the board are up 10 per cent this year, outpacing inflation. But you know what else is also up? The profits of the supermarkets. Woolworths profits went up nearly 20 per cent last year. The supermarket duopoly of Coles and Woolworths is ripping people off, and they are ripping people off because they think that shareholder profits and CEO pay packets are more important than people being able to afford to put food on the table.
But the galling thing is that governments actually have the power to do something about it. Governments around the world are taking action to put caps on essential items. Here in Victoria the state government have state power to do the same thing, but they are just refusing to use that power. That is why the Greens are calling for an inquiry into corporate price gouging, especially by the major supermarkets, and for the government to actually step in. Greedy corporations are ripping people off, and it is time the Labor government stepped in and did something about it.