KAP Federal Leader and Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter introduced a new bill to parliament which aims to ‘smash the supermarket giants’ stranglehold’ on Australia’s retail grocery sector.
Designed to restore power to Aussie food producers, small businesses and consumers, Katter says that his Reducing Supermarket Dominance Bill 2013 is in line with the broader view of the Australian public and challenges the ALP and NLP parties to respect public consensus and vote for the bill.
The new legislation would force the supermarket giants to reduce their share to no more than 20 percent each within a six year period. Coles and Woolworths currently hold an 80 percent share between them.
“The Americans are screaming blue murder because WalMart and their competitor have now reached about 23 per cent market share. Here we have two supermarkets with a market share of over 80 per cent, so if they decide to cut down the amount of money they are going to pay farmers and jack up the price to the consumers, they can, because there is no competition,” said Katter.
“We have to preserve what little competition we’ve got left so that we can get a fair go. It is vitally important to head off the untrammelled greed of the supermarket giants.”
Katter also currently has his Imported Food Warning Labels Bill 2013 before parliament which aims to inform consumers of potential health dangers of food imported from countries which do not adhere to the same standard of food safety as Australia.