Supermarket prices
Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (14:21): My question is for the Premier. Foodbank has just released their latest report, which shows hunger and food insecurity in Australia have reached a critical point. It shows that half of all low-income households are now food-insecure. People are making critical choices like not eating for a day or skipping meals just so their kids can eat, all because of high food prices, and this is while Coles and Woolworths have just posted nearly $3 billion in combined profits. The state government has the power to regulate and rein in supermarkets to stop price gouging and to stop high food prices. Why won’t the Labor state government step in and control food and grocery prices?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:22): I thank the member for Melbourne for her question. I am a little discombobulated because I was expecting a question from the Liberal Party. Clearly there has been a switcheroo over there with the Greens and the Liberal Party in terms of the order of the questions for today, but that is okay. In answering the member for Melbourne’s question, I will point out that I have already answered an almost identical question, notwithstanding that very important work that she referred to at the start of her question, the work that Foodbank has done in terms of the report, and I will come back to Foodbank in a moment. I have answered the back half of that question on previous occasions in the house, most specifically in response to questions from the member for Prahran.
But for the benefit of the member for Melbourne, in case the member for Prahran has not shared that information with the member for Melbourne, of course we know that it is the federal government and the ACCC who have the relevant powers in this space. Indeed we are seeing a lot of activity in the federal space on some of those challenges that everyone is experiencing when they go to the supermarket, but most particularly it is a real challenge for those vulnerable Victorians, many on low incomes. What we also know, and this goes back to the work of Foodbank, is that for a growing number of Victorians, because of those cost-of-living pressures and successive interest rate rises that are real for many Victorians, there is that increased demand for food relief, with more families experiencing the challenges of food poverty.
That is why in this year’s budget we expanded the very important school breakfast program, a program that we deliver in partnership with Foodbank. Indeed 40 million meals have already been delivered through this program. This year’s budget has expanded that program so more schools, indeed every government school, can have the opportunity to deliver the school breakfast program. I have seen this program work in school after school after school in addressing those two issues and in helping families who are experiencing food pressure, making sure that their children go to school, get a meal and then are ready to learn for the rest of the school day.
It has such an important impact on a young person’s learning. That is why in this year’s budget we have expanded that support, alongside bringing in the school saving bonus for the start of the school year. Families right now are receiving their information about how this $400 support will make a meaningful difference for families struggling with these cost-of-living pressures.
Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (14:25): This Victorian Labor government has repeatedly said that this is an area for the federal government, but constitutionally, while competition policy sits with the federal government, price regulation sits with the state government. It is possible for state governments to do this if they want to. In fact the state government already steps in to provide some level of regulation over prices of other essential areas, such as energy and water, through the Essential Services Commission. This report shows things are now so bad. Given this, why won’t the Labor government change their mind and finally step in to do something about high food prices?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:26): The supplementary question is in effect almost identical to the substantive question, and I have answered that question today and on previous occasions. We disagree with the member for Melbourne and her Greens political party colleagues on this question. This is a role for the federal government, this is a role for the ACCC and there is a significant amount of work underway at the federal level to deal with this issue. We are making sure, though, that there are practical and real steps we can take right now, and that is why I mentioned earlier expanding the school breakfast program into every school, providing the school saving bonus, expanding the Glasses for Kids program, rolling out the Smile Squad dental vans to make sure that good dental health is supported. These are some of many initiatives that we are taking right now to support families in Victoria, who we recognise need this support now to deal with these cost-of-living challenges.