8 February 2024
The Greens have secured a State Parliamentary inquiry into supermarket price gouging and the impact of high grocery prices on consumers after the Upper House backed a motion by Robert Simms MLC last night.
“This is a huge win for the people of South Australia who are battling soaring grocery prices during this cost-of-living crisis. The inquiry will shine a light on price gouging practices that are dudding consumers, farmers and local producers,” said Robert Simms MLC, Greens Treasury spokesperson.
“The inquiry will identify potential opportunities for government intervention and will play an important role in holding big corporations that are ripping off consumers to account. I look forward to working with my Parliamentary colleagues to get this committee up and running in coming weeks.”
The committee will include representatives from the Labor and Liberal parties along with Independent MLC Frank Pangallo.
The inquiry will examine the following matters:
- The prices for groceries and staple goods and products at South Australian supermarkets and grocery stores compared to other states in Australia.
- The disparities in grocery pricing between metropolitan and regional areas;
- The prices paid to local growers, producers and suppliers for goods and services compared to prices charged to consumers in South Australian supermarkets and grocery stores, and the reasons for these disparities;
- The impact of retail consumer pricing on consumers, particularly for those on low incomes;
- The prevalence of food insecurity in South Australia;
- The prevalence of price gouging practices and anti-competitive behaviour among grocery retailers and the impact on consumers; and
- Potential opportunities for price monitoring, transparency in retail pricing and further regulation of pricing.
ABS data reveals that there has been a cumulative 16% increase in food prices in Adelaide over the last 3 years, higher than any other Australian capital city.*
*Calculated from https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/consumer-price-indexaustralia/