MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

Mr REPACHOLI (Hunter) (15:39): Aussies don't need anyone in this parliament telling them the weekly shop costs too much; they already know it. Families across the Hunter know it every time they walk into Coles or Woolies. They know it when they buy meat, fruit and veggies, school lunches and the basics for dinner.

The pressure is real and some people are angry, and they've got every right to expect their government to act. That's what we've done. From 1 July 2026, very large supermarkets have been banned from charging prices that are far too high compared to their costs and a reasonable profit margin.

If they break the law, the penalties are very serious—up to $10 million, three times the benefit they got from breaking the law or 10 per cent of their yearly turnover. That's action. We've also made the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct mandatory.

We've also given the ACCC more power. We've increased maximum penalties for serious breaches of competition and consumer law from $10 million to $100 million. We're strengthening unit pricing, we're cracking down on shrinkflation, we're funding choice to compare supermarket prices and we're acting on the recommendations of the ACCC supermarket inquiry.

That's the record. Let's look at those opposite. They love to come into this House and make a lot of noise about grocery prices.

They act angry, they point fingers and they tell Aussies they're on their side. But where was their concern when they were in government? Where was the action then?

When they had the chance to make the food and grocery code mandatory, they left it voluntary—a toothless tiger. They had the power, they had the time, but they didn't do it. Yes, they put forward their own plan for a mandatory code, but that doesn't wipe away their record.

It doesn't wipe away the years they failed to act. I've got a question for those opposite: if these tougher rules are so important now, why didn't you bring them in when you were in charge? If stronger penalties matter so much now, why did you wait?

If supermarket competition matters so much now, where were you before? This is the problem with the opposition. They're always very brave after the decision's been made.

They're always very loud after somebody else has done all the work. They are always ready to complain—not so ready to act, though. We see the same thing again and again.

They voted against our tax cuts, they opposed Help to Buy—and then they lecture everyone else about household budgets. Give us a break! You can't vote against help for Australians and then pretend you're the only one who cares about cost of living.

You can't spend years doing too little on supermarket power, then turn up later pretending you're leading the fight. People can see straight through it. People in Cessnock see through it.

People in Singleton see through it. Families across Lake Macquarie in the Hunter can see straight through this—and I'll keep reminding of them of that record. This isn't about who can shout the loudest; it's about what you actually do.

It's about how you actually vote. It's about whether you stand up when it counts. Families want less pressure on their budgets.

Farmers want a fair price. Small suppliers just want a fair go. Shoppers want to know they're not being ripped off blind.

And the biggest supermarkets need to know there are consequences for when they break the rules. That's what government is meant to do. Are families are still under pressure?

Of course they are. No-one on this side is pretending everything is fixed. People are still counting every dollar, still checking every price and still making hard choices at the checkout.

But there's a big difference between trying to fix the problem and dog whistling about it. There's a difference between action and barking out noise. There's a difference between doing work and standing on the sidelines and simply complaining.

We'll keep backing the ACCC, we'll keep pushing for stronger competition and we'll stand up for farmers and suppliers. We'll keep working to give shoppers a fairer deal. And every time those opposite stand up and start shouting, Aussies should ask them three questions: 'What did you do when you were in government?

How did you vote when it mattered on cost-of-living relief? And what are you actually offering now?' Aussies deserve more than angry speeches; they deserve action, they deserve stronger rules, they deserve real penalties and they deserve a government that is prepared to do the work—not just sit on the sidelines and complain time after time again, as those opposite have done ever since we've been in government.

That's what we're doing, and that's what we'll keep doing.