MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Ms COFFEY (Griffith) (15:59): I thank the member for Goldstein for raising the matter of pressures facing Australian households at the check-out. The Albanese Labor government recognises the pressure. Families expect practical action to keep supermarket prices fair and hold the major chains to account.
We have responded with stronger protections for shoppers, farmers and suppliers across the food and grocery sector. Last month, on 1 July, excessive pricing by Australia's very large supermarkets became illegal. We amended the mandatory food and grocery code and gave the ban force of law.
Major retailers can recover their supply costs and earn a reasonable margin, but they cannot charge an excessive amount above those costs. The ACCC now monitors prices and enforces the ban. The supermarkets must retain pricing records for at least three years.
A breach carries a penalty of $10 million, three times the value of the benefit gained or 10 per cent of annual turnover, whichever is the greatest. Labor made the food and grocery code mandatory on 1 April 2025. It protects farmers and suppliers from retribution and carries multi-million-dollar penalties.
We funded a $2 million education program so fresh food produce suppliers can understand their rights and stand up to the major chains. Powerful retailers should never squeeze farmers at one end and families at the other. The Albanese Labor government is cracking down on shrinkflation too.
Shoppers know the trick. The packet looks familiar, and the shelf price stays the same. But there is less food inside.
That is a hidden price rise. A family pays more per gram, per litre or per item. We are strengthening the unit pricing code and introducing shrinkflation notices.
Shoppers should see clearly that a pack has become smaller and compare its real unit price. We've given the ACCC almost $100 million in extra funding for stronger enforcement. We fund CHOICE to publish independent quarterly comparisons of grocery baskets.
Food waste also belongs squarely in this debate about supermarket costs and pressures on families. Food bought and not used also comes out of the household grocery budget, and Food Waste Australia puts that loss at up to $2,500 per year, or close to $50 a week, for a household. It costs the Australian economy $36.6 billion annually and drains 1.4 per cent of GDP.
Across Australia, we waste 7.6 million tonnes of food each year, and households account for about 2.5 million tonnes of that. Every year, land the size of Victoria is used to grow food that ends up wasted. Farmers absorb losses from rejected produce, businesses bear handling costs, and councils fund collection and landfill.
Those costs flow through to household budgets, businesses and public services. Cutting waste must remain part of this work. Recently, at Labor's national conference, I moved an amendment calling for exactly this—stronger national action on food waste—which was seconded by my friend the member for Reid.
The amendment was adopted unanimously by delegates at the conference, and it's now part of Labor's national platform. Labor believes good food should reach people rather than fill bins and landfill. Prevention must come first, and safe surplus should reach families who need it.
An unavoidable surplus should go to its highest value use. I note here that the government's consultation on Feeding Australia, our first national food security strategy, has been completed and the strategy is due to be released next year. The government has banned excessive supermarket pricing and made the grocery code mandatory.
We are exposing shrinkflation. We're cutting food waste, and we're helping families get more value from every grocery dollar. On that, I want to note the incredible work of our food relief charities and our food rescue charities.
In my patch, we have OzHarvest. We also have SecondBite, FareShare and Food Bank, who help us in my electorate office in Griffith supply a community pantry. We've distributed two tonnes of fresh produce through the doors of my office.
I shout out all of their work. They do amazing work in this space but also a lot of community education about the role of food waste and how that can be limited. The coalition voted against Labor's supermarket code of conduct and tried to block multimillion-dollar penalties for supermarkets doing the wrong thing.
Labor chose to put those penalties in place. No Australian should be treated like a mug at the checkout. The Albanese Labor government is standing with families and delivering a fairer deal on the weekly shop.
We are helping Australians manage the cost of living through cheaper medicines, stronger Medicare and fairer supermarket prices. Our work is clear, our purpose is firm and our priority remains Australian families.